(1146) Impact of Pharmacy Technicians Utilizing Immunization Information Systems (IIS) in a Large Community Pharmacy Chain on Vaccine Administration Rates

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to compare the impact of pharmacy technician IIS access and engagement on vaccinations administered at intervention pharmacies compared to control pharmacies. The secondary objectives are to (1) evaluate the appropriateness of vaccinations administered at intervention and control pharmacies by auditing state IISs and local pharmacy records of a randomly selected sample of vaccines administered during the study period and to (2) evaluate change in pharmacy personnel knowledge, confidence, and competence utilizing the statewide IIS. Pharmacists have been administering vaccines to patients since 1996 and, by 2020, the number of pharmacists trained to administer vaccines exceeded 360,000. During the COVID-19 pandemic, community pharmacies proved to be a vital healthcare facility for patients, especially with pharmacists’ impact in administering COVID-19 vaccinations. As of August 18, 2023, more than 307.4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccinations have been administered by community pharmacies in the US. Pharmacists are one of the most accessible healthcare providers and because of their accessibility, community pharmacies can close gaps in patients’ vaccine histories and protect communities from preventable diseases. Increasing pharmacy resources to provide vaccinations to patients is crucial in protecting patients from preventable diseases. Statewide IISs serve as an immunization administration record for patients and providers as these systems consolidate immunization information from different providers into a single, accessible record. Involving technicians in the process to obtain information from the IIS may allow more opportunities to provide vaccination services and close gaps in care. Further, allowing pharmacy teams to have wider access to the IIS may increase confidence in recommending vaccines. This may improve patients’ acceptance of vaccine recommendations and close vaccination gaps in care.

Methods: This study will be submitted to the University of Cincinnati Institutional Review Board for review. The study will be conducted in 10-20 pharmacies within one division of a large community pharmacy chain. Pharmacies involved in this study will be designated as control or intervention pharmacies based on average weekly prescription fill count and location, then matched accordingly. All pharmacy staff will complete a survey pre and post implementation evaluating knowledge, confidence, and competence of the statewide IIS. Responses to the surveys will be evaluated using a five-point Likert scale. The intervention pharmacies will then receive guidance and training on utilizing IIS reports daily and technicians will be granted account access to the IIS. Pharmacy technicians will access and retrieve a patients’ immunization information report as part of a new standardized vaccine process. First, technicians will retrieve an immunization information report if a patient schedules a vaccination appointment online. Second, the technician will reference a daily pharmacy will call report and identify common medications for diabetes and respiratory conditions from a targeted medication list to target vaccines, such as pneumococcal and hepatitis B. The technician will deliver the immunization information report to the pharmacist and the pharmacist will place a mandatory counseling note that cannot be bypassed on the patient’s profile prompting pharmacy personnel to strongly recommend appropriate vaccines to the patient at the point-of-sale. Pharmacists will reference the immunization information report to make a strong vaccine recommendation when the patient arrives to the pharmacy. A Mann-Whitney U test will be used to compare vaccine rates between the intervention and control pharmacies. Appropriateness of vaccines will be evaluated by auditing 10% of immunization information reports and local pharmacy records of patients who received a vaccine at a control pharmacy to check accordance with 2023 CDC vaccination recommendations to identify missed, duplicated, or inappropriately spaced vaccines.

Results: Research in Progress

Conclusions: Research in Progress