Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/790284
62 CMO / CARE DELIVERY Mandatory Flu Shot Policies May Be Based on Flawed Research, Study Suggests By Heather Punke W hile the CDC urges everyone to get a flu shot, some hospitals take it a step further and mandate employees to get a flu shot or face possible termination. ese mandatory flu shot poli- cies are rooted in the belief the shot protects both workers and patients from the virus. However, a study published in PLOS says the policies may be built on faulty research. "e impression that unvaccinated [healthcare workers] place their pa- tients at great influenza peril is exaggerated," according to the study. Researchers looked into four cluster randomized controlled trials con- ducted in long-term care facilities that showed reductions in patient flu risk when more healthcare workers were vaccinated against the flu. ey found the trials overestimated the effect healthcare worker vaccination would have on patient flu deaths. For instance, one of the trials concluded one influenza death would be averted for every eight staff members vacci- nated. But if that were true, vaccinating the nation's 5.5 million healthcare workers would avert 687,500 flu deaths annually — when in reality flu causes only 3,000 to 49,000 deaths in the U.S. each year, STAT reported. "I think the bottom line of our paper is to say there is no valid scientific evidence, even now, underpinning enforced healthcare worker immu- nizations," Dr. Gaston De Serres, the lead study author, told STAT. e leader of one of the trials examined in this study issued a response in PLOS, stating in part, "While we claimed that the findings may be generalizable to other settings we did not intend to imply that the extent of the benefit would be similar in other settings. Indeed we think the effect is likely to be substantially greater in long-term care facilities for frail elderly residents than in the acute care setting or in long-term care facilities catering for less frail patients." n 1,500+ ATTENDEES FROM ACROSS THE NATION REGISTER BY AUGUST 1, 2017 AND SAVE! George W. Bush, 43rd President of the United States of America Edward Marx, Executive Vice President, The Advisor y Board Company; Interim Chief Information Of ficer, NYC Health + Hospitals Sugar Ray Leonard, Boxing Legend, Successful Entrepreneur and Author, The Big Fight: My Life In and Out of the Ring Amber McGraw Walsh, JD, Chairperson, McGuireWoods LLP Mary Alice Annecharico, MS, RN, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Of ficer, Henr y Ford Health System Shafiq Rab, MD, Regional Senior Vice President and Co-Chief Information Of ficer, Hackensack University Medical Center Daniel J. Barchi, MEM, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Of ficer, New York-Presbyterian Susan Salka, Chief Executive Of ficer, President and Direc tor, AMN Healthcare Ser vices KEYNOTES BY 3RD ANNUAL CIO/HEALTH IT + REVENUE CYCLE CONFERENCE SEPTEMBER 21-23, 2017 HYATT REGENCY | CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 150 SPEAKERS FROM HOSPITALS AND HEALTH SYSTEMS 255 SPEAKERS TOTAL THE BRIGHTEST CIOS, HEALTH IT AND REVENUE CYCLE EXPERTS IN HEALTHCARE REGISTER HERE www.beckershospitalreview.com/ health-it-revenue-cycle-conference/ Registration@BeckersHealthcare.com OR 800.417.2035. "I think the bottom line of our paper is to say there is no valid scientific evidence, even now, underpinning enforced healthcare worker immunizations." — Dr. Gaston De Serres, lead author