Pharmacy-based Immunization Services

A special issue of Pharmacy (ISSN 2226-4787).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2019) | Viewed by 13941

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
School of Pharmacy, Chapman University, Irvine, CA, USA
Interests: travel medicine; vaccines or immunizations; public health; epidemiology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Chapman University School of Pharmacy, Orange, CA, USA
Interests: community pharmacy; immunization

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Guest Editor
Chapman University School of Pharmacy, Orange, CA, USA
Interests: women’s health; immunization

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We invite you to submit a manuscript to the “Pharmacy-Based Immunization Services” Special Issue in the journal Pharmacy—an open-access journal with a focus on pharmacy education and practice.

For the Special Issue on “Pharmacy-Based Immunization Services”, we seek a full breadth of manuscripts including, but not limited to, the following topics: (1) innovations in site or process for vaccine delivery, (2) social/behavioral aspects of people vaccinated by pharmacist, (3) Immunization Information System (registries) and pharmacy, (4) health economics outcomes related to pharmacy-based immunization, (5) clinical outcomes of pharmacy-based immunization services, (6) health education and health promotion program related to pharmacy-based immunization, and (7) using immunization services to link patients to other comprehensive care. We seek manuscripts of all types including (1) reviews, (2) commentaries, (3) idea papers, (4) case studies, (5) demonstration studies, and (6) research studies.

The overall goal of this Special Issue on “Pharmacy-Based Immunization Services” is to give the reader a state-of-the-art synopsis of pharmacy-based immunization services at this time. To accomplish this goal, we seek papers that address the social, psychosocial, political, legal, historic, clinical, and economic factors that are associated with pharmacy-based immunization services. Papers that translate concepts from other domains into the pharmacist services realm will be instructive to our audience and are welcome for this Special Issue.

Dr. Jeff Goad
Dr. Albert Bach
Dr. Sharon Xavioer
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Pharmacy is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • immunization
  • vaccination
  • pharmacy

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

6 pages, 456 KiB  
Article
The Impact of Pharmacist Vaccination Privilege during a Nation-Wide Measles Outbreak
by Tanya Singh, Renae L. Smith-Ray and Michael Taitel
Pharmacy 2020, 8(1), 7; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy8010007 - 9 Jan 2020
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3503
Abstract
The 2019 measles outbreak was the worst since the USA eliminated measles in 2000. This paper presents the vaccination trends for a large chain-pharmacy, Walgreens, and examines the estimated vaccination capacity and impact of pharmacist privilege policies across states. Specifically, we estimated the [...] Read more.
The 2019 measles outbreak was the worst since the USA eliminated measles in 2000. This paper presents the vaccination trends for a large chain-pharmacy, Walgreens, and examines the estimated vaccination capacity and impact of pharmacist privilege policies across states. Specifically, we estimated the number of people who could have been vaccinated in eight states with reduced or no measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccination privilege during the study period January–June, 2019. During the study period, Walgreens pharmacists administered MMR vaccines to 62,526 patients, a 231.9% increase. If pharmacists had been permitted to vaccinate against measles in the eight states investigated, Walgreens pharmacies would have administered between 12,404 and 36,551 additional vaccinations during that time. We also estimated all chain pharmacies’ capacity to vaccinate in one state that was severely impacted by the measles outbreak, New York, using a range from normal pharmacy operating conditions to maximum capacity. Assuming sufficient demand, it was estimated that chain pharmacies in New York State would have the capacity to vaccinate between 47,688 and 174,856 patients daily, achieving MMR vaccination (first dose) of the measles-susceptible population within 8–28 days. Overall, this study demonstrates the public health value of pharmacist vaccination privilege during a nation-wide outbreak of measles. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pharmacy-based Immunization Services)
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9 pages, 211 KiB  
Article
Using Community Pharmacy Immunization Screening Forms to Identify Potential Immunization Opportunities
by Albert T. Bach and Jeffery A. Goad
Pharmacy 2019, 7(4), 160; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy7040160 - 26 Nov 2019
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2847
Abstract
Immunization screening forms are completed for each patient that is to be vaccinated in the pharmacy. Screening forms contain demographic and health questions, which are used to determine if a patient is contraindicated to receive a vaccine. The objective is to determine if [...] Read more.
Immunization screening forms are completed for each patient that is to be vaccinated in the pharmacy. Screening forms contain demographic and health questions, which are used to determine if a patient is contraindicated to receive a vaccine. The objective is to determine if patient responses to questions on these forms can be used to identify potential vaccine indications. De-identified data was retrospectively collected from 11 community pharmacies in California and Michigan that included basic demographics, answers to immunization screening questions, and vaccine(s) administered during that visit. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommendations were used to forecast vaccine needs using the limited demographic and health history available from the screening forms. Descriptive statistics are presented, characterizing patient demographics and health condition-based recommendations, and the percentage of patients in a pharmacy population that may have potential indications for additional vaccines. Data were collected from 8669 pharmacy vaccine screening forms. Using the patient’s date of birth on the screening form, 10% (n = 759) and 34.6% (n = 2615) of patients receiving vaccines at the pharmacy may be indicated for the zoster, or both the zoster and pneumococcal vaccines, respectively. Screening form questions that inquire about medical history are also able to identify 13.9% (n = 977) of patients with a potential need for pneumococcal vaccines. Our data indicate that pharmacists can identify potential immunization opportunities proactively by using their immunization screening form, not only to identify contraindications, but also indications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pharmacy-based Immunization Services)
9 pages, 1280 KiB  
Communication
Implementing Immunizing Pharmacy Technicians in a Federal Healthcare Facility
by Kimberly McKeirnan and Gregory Sarchet
Pharmacy 2019, 7(4), 152; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy7040152 - 11 Nov 2019
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 6740
Abstract
Background: Pharmacy technicians are legally allowed to administer immunizations in specific U.S. states, provided they meet certain criteria, including the completion of an accredited immunization training course. Immunizing pharmacy technicians were incorporated into an Indian Health Services federal facility, Whiteriver Service Unit [...] Read more.
Background: Pharmacy technicians are legally allowed to administer immunizations in specific U.S. states, provided they meet certain criteria, including the completion of an accredited immunization training course. Immunizing pharmacy technicians were incorporated into an Indian Health Services federal facility, Whiteriver Service Unit (WRSU), in 2018. The objective of this research was to gather information about implementing immunizing pharmacy technicians in a federal facility serving a large rural and medically underserved population. Methods: WRSU launched a Pharmacy Technician Immunization Program in June 2018 after seven federally employed pharmacy technicians participated in the Washington State University accredited technician immunization training. The types of vaccinations administered, and the ages of patients immunized by pharmacy technicians, were tracked from July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019. Results: Seven immunization-trained pharmacy technicians administered 4394 injections for a total of 4852 vaccinations in one year. Vaccinations were administered to patients ranging in age from 2 months old to 85 years old and included protection against diphtheria, tetanus, polio, hepatitis A and B, H. influenza, human papillomavirus, seasonal influenza, meningococcal, measles, mumps, rubella, varicella, pneumonia, and rotavirus. Conclusion: In one year, seven pharmacy technicians administered more than 4800 vaccinations to underserved patients. Pharmacy technicians trained and certified to administer immunizations increase access to vaccination care and have the potential to drastically increase the number of immunizations given and reduce the number of deaths from vaccine-preventable diseases. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pharmacy-based Immunization Services)
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