Impact of a Pharmacy Intern-Led Electronic Health Record Outreach Program on Vaccine Uptake in a Primary Care Network

Abstract

Introduction

Despite the demonstrated benefits of vaccination, rates of recommended vaccine uptake among adults and children in the United States continue to remain low. Pharmacy interns are well-positioned to champion clinical programs. A pharmacy intern-led outreach program utilizing the electronic health record (EHR) messaging system may be a way to increase vaccination uptake.

Objective

The primary objective was to assess the percent of patients vaccinated following the implementation of a pharmacy intern-led vaccine outreach program.

Methods

This was a retrospective cohort study evaluating patients from 17 primary care sites who were eligible for pneumococcal, Herpes Zoster, meningococcal, or hepatitis B vaccine and received an outreach message from the pharmacy intern. The intern sent EHR messages with vaccine recommendations from November 2023 until August 2024. The primary outcome evaluating the percentage of patients vaccinated was assessed at 6 months following the final day of outreach. Secondary outcomes of this study were to describe the uptake of each vaccine and to assess differences in the demographics of patients receiving the different vaccination types. Program time commitment and revenue were also assessed.

Results

A total of 99 625 outreach messages were sent with 4518 (4.5%) of patients vaccinated. Of the 59 494 (59.7%) patients who read the outreach message, 7.6% of patients received the recommended vaccine compared to 0% of patients who did not read the message (p < 0.001). Of the patients eligible for each vaccination type who read the messaging, a total of 2188 (10.1%) patients received a pneumococcal vaccine, 1496 (10.5%) received a Herpes Zoster vaccine, 281 (47.3%) received a meningococcal vaccine, and 553 (2.4%) patients received a hepatitis B vaccine. The program was associated with an estimated $310 973 in revenue.

Conclusion

A pharmacy intern-led outreach program conducted via EHR messaging demonstrated a significant increase in vaccination uptake and may be financially self-sustainable.