Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/912958
29 Executive Briefing The system's vaccine policies and changes regarding vaccination are regularly updated in the EHR. To ensure vaccine champions are up to date on vaccine label change s, and proper vaccination practices, vaccine champions from across the system come together biannually for a meeting prepared by the vaccine committee. Champions are tasked with communicating key takeaways from this meeting to colleagues at their respective sites. The system recognizes the top-performing offices in regards to vaccination rates with framed certificates and asks champions from these offices to share best practices regarding vaccination. Leverage technology to promote and monitor vaccination Geisinger uses optimized health IT to enable providers to proactively identify patients missing recommended vaccinations. This use of technology has been standardized and replicated across the system. Additionally, each month a report is generated detailing clinic or provider vaccination rates for all ACIP-recommended vaccinations and highlighting those who met their goals. At Geisinger, the Pennsylvania state vaccination registry has played an important role in developing comprehensive patient vaccination records. Geisinger's EHR system has been updated to automatically populate patient files with data from the state registry. Before, during, and after the patient visit By using anticipatory reports and predicative analytics, Geisinger's efforts to promote vaccination begin well before a patient enters a care location. Anticipatory reports regarding scheduled patient visits are disseminated among providers each morning, so members of the care team can see which patients might be missing a recommended vaccination. This helps facilitate a culture in which every patient visit becomes an opportunity to assess vaccination status. Geisinger also promotes vaccination through patient engagement efforts including text messaging, phone calls, mobile apps, and mail. The care gaps team at Geisinger works to identify patients who may be missing a vaccine by analyzing care records. When a patient who is not up to date on their vaccinations is identified, a member from the care gaps team reaches out to him or her through the patient's preferred mode of contact. After the team member informs the patient of the missed vaccine, the patient is transferred to an appointment scheduling line to plan his or her next visit. During patient visits at Geisinger facilities, clinical staff receive alerts via the EHR to alert them when a patient has yet to receive a recommended vaccination. Disease and vaccine facts are included in certain alerts to assist the clinical staff during patient interactions. By establishing system wide standing orders and empowering the clinical staff to complete them, efficiency improves and missed opportunities are decreased. Standing orders carried out by nurses or other qualified health care professionals can be an effective means for increasing vaccination rates and reducing missed opportunities for vaccination, which helps improve the quality of care for patients. Geisinger empowers its clinical staff to implement standing orders in many ways, including: • Fostering an environment of trust between leadership and employees • Emphasizing the importance of the nurse's role in the care team and giving these key frontline care providers a voice in decision-making processes that influence clinical care • Promoting the shared goal of helping to keep patients healthy • Posting the clinic's monthly vaccination rates so team members can view them • Providing vaccine and technical training to clinical staff • Providing staff with clearly defined processes and procedures for every standing order • Communicating system expectations of clinical staff to work at the top of their license After the visit, the patient is given a summary detailing vaccinations administered during the appointment. Patients with access to the patient portal can also view their vaccination records. If the patient received a vaccine that is a part of a series, providers will schedule a follow-up vaccination appointment before the patient leaves the office. A call to action While adult vaccination rates have been historically low, hospitals and health systems are striving to find new ways to intervene. Low adult vaccination rates should no longer be accepted as the status quo. It's time for hospitals and health systems to take advantage of the resources available to improve vaccination rates among their patient populations.n For more than a century, Merck has been inventing for life, bringing forward medicines and vaccines for many of the world's most challenging diseases. Today, Merck continues be at the forefront of research to deliver innovative health solutions and advance the prevention and treatment of diseases that threaten people and animals around the world.