The current release is version 1.42.1.4 - Released March 18th, 2024.    (Download the latest ICE release now)

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Current News

  • March 18, 2024 - New Release of ICE - Version 1.42.1.4
    • A new release of ICE is available - Download the latest ICE release now.
    • 1.42.1.4 fixes a dose numbering issue for young patients who are continuing in an < 5 years series after 9/12/2023, clarifies a special rule in the >= 5 year series and corresponding logic to address an exception related to the handling of CVX 313, and extends the "start" date for COVID-19 vaccines in the prior season. 
    • For information about what is included in version 1.42.1, please see the News entry below and the Release Notes.
    • If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please do not hesitate to e-mail us at ice@hln.com.


  • March 7th, 2024 - New Release of ICE - Version 1.42.1.3
    • A new release of ICE is available - Download the latest ICE release now.
    • 1.42.1.3 fixes an issue discovered in v1.42.1.2. In certain situations, some historical COVID doses prior to September 12, 2023 were being evaluated as Accepted rather than Valid. This release fixes this issue.
    • For information about what is included in version 1.42.1, please see the News entry below and the Release Notes.
    • If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please do not hesitate to e-mail us at ice@hln.com.


  • March 5th, 2024 - New Release of ICE - Version 1.42.1.2
    • Version 1.42.1.2 fixes an issue that was discovered in version 1.42.1. Some shots in the >= 5 year COVID-19 series were incorrectly being evaluated as Invalid. Those who download version 1.42.1 will need to upgrade to this release which addresses this issue.
    • For information about what is included in version 1.42, please see the News entry below and the Release Notes.
    • If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please do not hesitate to e-mail us at ice@hln.com.


  • March 1st, 2024 - ICE Version 1.42.1
    • Version 1.42.1 includes updates to support the COVID-19 recommendations introduced on September 12, 2023. These recommendations are supported by an additional set of logic for the COVID-19 Vaccine Group. The new COVID-19 - September 2023 Onwards logic includes five series and adds support for the updated (2023–2024 formula) COVID-19 vaccines: CVX 309, CVX 310, CVX 311, CVX 312, and CVX 313. See the Release Notes for additional details.
    • The ICE Implementation Guide has been updated with the new COVID-19 codes: CVX 309, CVX 310, CVX 311, CVX 312, and CVX 313, and the new Sept 2023 COVID-19 series names. 
    • A Google Sheet that lists all the coded values in the Implementation Guide is also available. 
    • Forthcoming ICE updates will include the introduction of a new RSV Vaccine Group, to support RSV recommendations for infants and older adults, as well as updates to the COVID-19 – September 2023 Onwards logic. The COVID-19 – September 2023 Onward logic update will address the February 28, 2024, ACIP vote and subsequent CDC endorsement of the recommendation for adults ages 65 years and older to receive an additional dose of the updated 2023-2024 COVID-19 vaccine.
    • Not sure which version of ICE you're currently using? View the README.HISTORY file included with each zipfile distribution or pull the version dynamically at the following endpoint: http(s)://<host>:<port>/path/to/opencds-decision-support-service/version.
    • If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please e-mail us at ice@hln.com.


  • The Importance of Upgrading After Each ICE Release
    • With each new release, we strongly recommend that all users and service providers update their running instances of ICE as soon as possible to the latest version. Each new release contains important forecaster business logic updates and fixes.


  • ICE Code Systems and Codes Now Available in Google Sheets
    • The ICE code systems and codes are now accessible in Google Sheets as an added convenience. These are the codes as those in the Implementation Guide. The codes will continue be updated in both the places.
    • The Google Sheet is available here.


  • Configuration Note
    • As of release 1.24.1, the ICE service is configured with the output_supplemental_text option in the properties file set to enabled by default.
    • As of release 1.16.1, the ICE service is configured by default to return the earliest and overdue dates in addition to the recommendation date. In prior releases, the default configuration was to return only the recommendation date for the forecast.
      • If your application has not been configured to display the earliest and/or overdue dates, we recommend turning this feature off by changing the output_earliest_and_overdue_dates value in the ice.properties file to "N". Failure to do so may result in incorrect interpretation of the recommendation date.
      • If you are interested in returning the earliest date or overdue date, please refer to the latest ICE Implementation Guide for details indicating precisely where each of the forecast dates – earliest, recommended, and overdue – are specified in the ICE output, and under what circumstances.

Prior News









This weekend, the ICE Team is traveling to HIMSS 2019 in Orlando to participate in the HIMSS 2019 Interoperability Showcase. From February 12th through February 14th, ICE will be demonstrated alongside other systems in the "Immunization Integration & CDS Use Case". If you are attending HIMSS, please stop by the showcase. We would love to meet you. For more details about the Immunization Use Case and another Use Case that HLN is also participating in, please see our blog article. We hope to see you there!


In the downloadable distribution for this release, the ice.properties file's output_earliest_and_overdue_dates property was set to "Y". In previous releases, this property was set to "N". If you have not configured your application to handle earliest and overdue dates, change the  value to "N". The ICE Implementation Guide (v2r20) has instructions about how to interpret each of the forecast dates, including how they are specified in the ICE output and under what circumstances.




At the 18th FHIR Connectathon in Cologne, Germany on May 12-13, 2018, HLN successfully integrated its open source Immunization Calculation Engine (ICE) service with test instances of two Electronic Health Record (EHR) products, Epic and Cerner, using the CDS Hooks standard. CDS Hooks is an emerging specification for invoking third-party Clinical Decision Support (CDS) web services from various points within an EHR workflow, such as whenever a patient is viewed. Registering a CDS service in an EHR is as easy as supplying a service discovery URL. When invoked, the ICE CDS Hooks service accepts patient demographics and immunization history supplied by the EHR in FHIR format; calls the ICE decision support service; and sends back immunization forecasting alerts to the EHR for display. The Connectathon was held prior to the May HL7 Working Group Meeting in Cologne. Version 1.0 of the CDS Hooks standard (cds-hooks.org) is being voted on during the May 2018 HL7 ballot cycle.


On June 1, 2018, HLN convened its quarterly meeting of the ICE Review Board. Topics discussed in this session focused on expanded support of Earliest Date and Overdue Date, a new feature that was introduced in version 1.11.1. If enabled within an installation, ICE will output two additional forecast dates along with the Recommendation Date: The Earliest Date and Overdue Date. Other topics discussed with the ICE Review Board members included an update on the continued alignment of CDC CDSi and ICE rules, the recent success of connecting ICE to Epic and Cerner during the May 2018 HL7 Connectathon in Cologne, Germany, and innovations being made to support FHIR and CDS Hooks. In addition, Review Board members provided their perspective on the use of fuzzy dates within IIS and EHRs. The next ICE Review Board meeting will be scheduled in the 3rd quarter 2018.