Background
Low Vaccination Rates
Low adult vaccination rates exist despite national recommendations; in fact the US missed the 2010 adult immunization goals. For example, it is easy to assume that most patients are appropriately vaccinated during flu vaccination season when so many vaccines are administered every day. Clinicians are often surprised to learn how many of their patients are unprotected against this life-threatening disease because those patients do not have visits scheduled during influenza vaccination season.
Missed Opportunities
Missed opportunities are visits in which vaccine-eligible patients are seen, but not vaccinated. Examples of visits which are frequently not used for vaccination are vists such as blood pressure checks, acute visits for conditions that do not contraindicate vaccination, follow-up for accute visists, chronic care visits, employment physicals, workers' comp visits, etc.
In a Pittsburgh study of primary care medical records, more than one missed influenza opportunity and three missed PPSV and Tdap opportunities occurred per adult patient per year. These occurred at both chronic care and acute care visits in which there was no documented assessment or administration of needed vaccines. Might missed opportunities be a cause of low vaccination rates in your practice?