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| Welcome to EBRS and OVERS! |
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Welcome to OVERS News, a regular newsletter from the Center for Health Statistics (CHS) about the Oregon Vital Events Registration System, or OVERS. Previous issues have focused on the death certificate; this issue is the first about the new birth certificate process.
OVERS is an online system that is modernizing and streamlining the vital records registration process–from the initial creation and registration of a vital record to making certified copies. OVERS will offer faster services and improved data quality, while meeting national standards and the requirements of the 2004 Intelligence Reform Act.
EBRS
The Electronic Birth Registration System (EBRS) is the second OVERS module to be implemented by CHS and its partners. (The first module was the death system, which began statewide rollout in September 2006 and will be finished in July 2007.) EBRS is targeted to go live statewide on January 1, 2008. The remaining future OVERS modules include marriage and divorce and induced termination of pregnancy, which are targeted to go live in 2009.
EBRS will replace the existing EBC system. Birth certifiers will complete the birth certificate and sign the record online at a secure, state-owned web site.
Benefits:
- Birth certificate information will be available immediately to state and county registrars to register and issue certified copies.
- Birth certifiers will be able to submit corrections electronically.
- EBRS also eliminates the need to send floppy disks to our office or to use the SFTP service.
On January 1, 2008, Oregon also introduces a new birth certificate form for both paper and electronic certificates. See the story below.
Paper Records
For those birth certifiers who submit paper records, that process will still continue. Records received on paper will be entered into EBRS by state vital records staff.
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| Communications You Can Expect From Us |
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The OVERS Project uses several methods to communicate information to interested parties.
- Birth certificate and birth registration system information will appear in this newsletter.
- Death system updates will continue in alternating newsletter issues.
- As additional modules begin planning, the newsletter will be expanded to the relevant partners and customers.
- We are preparing a birth system Impact Assessment. This assessment is performed to identify potential business operational changes that may occur as a result of implementing EBRS. The assessment looks at both CHS and its partners and includes work procedures, personnel, relationships with other stakeholders and the cultural and political environments.
- After identifying potential issues in the Impact Assessment, we will prepare a Communications and Support Plan that identifies strategies that can be used to address these issues and enhance positive impacts of the project.
We should be receiving the first release of the birth module to our test system in September. After we have a stable test system, we will prepare a PowerPoint demonstration for downloading that will give you a general idea of what the birth system will look like. As development progresses, this presentation will be updated to reflect the latest changes.
In the Fall of 2007, you will receive information about how training will occur for the new system, including registration procedures, agendas and other training materials.
We have a website dedicated to OVERS. You can find it at www.oregon.gov/DHS/ph/overs/. On this site you can find general information about OVERS, project updates, these newsletters, and much more. If you would like to get a general idea of the “look and feel” of the OVERS system, you can download a general presentation of the EDRS module from the resources page. Please check it out.
Finally, feel free to contact Karen Hampton, the OVERS Manager, at 971-673-1191 or by email at karen.r.hampton@state.or.us, for any questions regarding the project.
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| OVERS Technology in Brief |
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OVERS is a secure, Web-based system, generally requiring only routine hardware and software that you likely already have. (See system requirements below.) You can access OVERS from any computer with internet access, so you are not limited to particular terminals, as with EBC.
As an online system, security is a priority and includes secure communications and biometric (fingerprint) identification of participants who are responsible for certifying or signing certificates. Fingerprint readers are the only unusual hardware and software requirements for OVERS and the state is providing these free of charge to OVERS participants.
In order to ensure that only legally authorized people are electronically signing vital records, we are using what is known as two-factor authentication. As implemented in OVERS, two-factor authentication combines something you know – a user ID and password – with something you are – your fingerprints. This is a very accurate way of verifying the identity of the people completing certificates.
The system does not store actual fingerprint images. It only stores a digital value that is based on selected characteristics of the fingerprint and this value is created in a process that cannot be reversed. When a user signs a certificate electronically, a digital value is created from this new fingerprint scan and compared with the value originally stored to verify the identity. It is not possible for anyone to generate actual fingerprints from these digital values, nor can they be used in any other biometric system.
More information on OVERS biometric security and privacy will soon be available on our website: www.oregon.gov/DHS/ph/overs/.
OVERS System Requirements
To perform the basic functions of logging into the system, entering records and printing, you will need:
- A high-speed internet connection
- One of the following versions of Microsoft Windows: 2000 with Service Patch 2 or higher; XP with Service Patch 1 or higher. (Vista support is forthcoming.)
- Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.x or higher
- Adobe Acrobat Reader 6.0 or higher
Birth certifiers will also need the APC fingerprint reader and we will provide the reader and necessary software. This reader requires an open USB port on your computer.
Please contact your local information technology office to ensure your workstations meet these requirements.
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| New Birth Certificate - New Look |
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When EBRS begins, Oregon will begin using the latest revisions (2003) of the U.S. Standard birth certificate. This certificate collects additional medical and health information about the newborn and the mother. This additional information is used by researchers to better assess public health issues and is also necessary to meet national standards for vital records. This form will be used in both the electronic and paper versions of the birth certificate. When this form is finalized, you will receive further information about the specific changes.
The Web-based format of EBRS makes it easy to enter information. The system makes extensive use of drop-down lists to help enter accurate information. For items that allow multiple responses (such as many medical fields) there are checkboxes to select as many as appropriate. Items that are related to each other, such as mother’s health or newborn factors, are grouped together. Overall, you should find it a very easy system to use.
We will be providing new worksheets and instructions on how to use the new certificate.
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| PDF Version of OVERS News |
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The sections above contain all of the articles in OVERS News, Issue 6. You can also get a pdf file of the original printed newsletter.
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