Improving Communication to Patients
Problem: Patients do not know they should be vaccinated. Physician recommendation is central to vaccine acceptance.
Solution: Discuss serious matters of vaccine-preventable diseases.
- Physician recommendation makes a difference among patients hesitant to be vaccinated.
- Post vaccination flyers and posters in exam and waiting rooms.
- Remind parents and grandparents that they could transmit flu or whooping cough to their loved ones; this is a powerful motivator as no parent or grandparent wants to be responsible for a child or grandchild being hospitalized due to a preventable infectious disease.
Problem: Reaching the patients who do not routinely receive annual influenza vaccine.
Solutions:
- Make vaccinations part of the conversation at every visit, from all staff with patient contact, throughout the year.
- Encourage staff vaccination and use it as support for the importance of vaccination.
- Patients will be reluctant to take vaccines that the staff refuse
Problem: Patients need to know when convenient vaccination services are available in your office.
Solution: Notify patients automatically, which can be accomplished using the following:
- Office posters
- Email
- Text messaging
- Social media
- Auto dialer
- Answering system messages
- Patient portals