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Automated, hospital-based program increased influenza vaccination rates
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Pediatric influenza vaccine rates increased when an automated, hospital-based influenza vaccination program was integrated into the electronic medical record system, according to recent study findings published in the Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society.
“Our large, retrospective cohort study of children hospitalized at a pediatric tertiary care center demonstrates that influenza vaccination rates of hospitalized patients increased after the introduction of an automated hospital-based influenza vaccination program,” Ari H. Pollack, MD, of Seattle Children’s Hospital, and colleagues wrote. “Furthermore, such a process provided insight into both whether children had received the vaccine previously and the reasons why they chose not to receive the vaccine.”
The retrospective cohort study included 42,716 children aged 6 months or older admitted to a tertiary care pediatric hospital during influenza seasons between 2003 and 2012. Influenza rates, before and after implementation of an automated electronic medical record, were evaluated.
Researchers found that screening increased over time during the intervention phase (19.8%-77.1%; P<.001). During the preintervention phase, in-hospital influenza vaccination rate was 2.1% but increased to 8% during the intervention phase (OR=6.8; 95% CI, 6.14-7.47). During the intervention phase, 54.2% of participants were screened, 49.2% were already vaccinated, 4.3% were unable to receive the vaccine for medical reasons, and 25.6% had caregivers who refused to vaccinate.
“Future study will be important to identify tools that can further increase the rate of screening and vaccinations,” researchers wrote. “Having tools that integrate with state vaccination registries would boost their utility and streamline the process. This model could also be implemented for other needs where large patient populations need to undergo screening as well as generalized health maintenance.”
Disclosure: The study was funded in part by NIH. The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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