CCMS Medicine Summer 2017 - 17

www.CHESTERCMS.org

Some pharmacies also have "convenience clinics," staffed
by licensed nurse practitioners, who administer all required
vaccinations as part of a wellness visit, and bill the patient's
insurance for adults and children as young as 18 months
of age. Receiving vaccines outside the medical home can
interfere with the patient-primary care relationship, but
is a work-around for the time being. Some pharmacies
automatically notify a prescribing physician when a vaccine
is administered to his or her patient. It may be worthwhile
cultivating relationships with local pharmacists to encourage
this improved communication.
There are resources available to assist medical providers
achieve the ARARD standard for adults. For assessment and
recommendation help, "The Purple Book" is a comprehensive
source of vaccine information, drawing together vaccine
science, guidance, and practice into a user-friendly resource
for the private office, public health clinic, academic medical
center, classroom, and hospital. The free app may be found by
searching the iTunes App Store for "The Vaccine Handbook
App" or clicking on the following link:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-vaccine-handbookapp/id1043246009?ls=1&mt=8.
To increase referral process efficiency, the Chester County
Immunization Coalition (CCIC) is spearheading a project to
connect adults to recommended vaccines. CCIC is targeting
pharmacies and other community immunization providers to
register their services with https://vaccinefinder.org/, a website
managed by Boston Children's Hospital. The campaign will
also market the database to physicians and patients who
can search via zip code or address and radius to find which
pharmacies or facilities carry which vaccines on premises,
what age groups they service and if insurance is accepted.
Another common referral source for physicians, which
is included in Vaccine Finder, is the Chester County Health
Department (CCHD). They carry all routinely recommended
vaccines and post fees that are subject to change. There is no
charge to uninsured or underinsured children and adults,
as well as children with Medical Assistance. They will bill
private insurance for flu vaccine through a third party and
they will also bill Medicare Part B for Flu and Pneumonia
(PCV13 and PPSV23), although other vaccines must be paid
for by an insured patient at the time of service. The CCHD
is considering including more insurance billing for other
vaccines for insured children and adults in the future.

NOTE:
The Chester County Immunization Coalition is presently
working on Phase 3 of the Adult Vaccine project to disseminate
adult vaccine educational materials and the VaccineFinder Health
Map to citizens of Chester County through Senior Centers
newsletters and presentations, and are strategizing the best use of
advertising dollars to promote adult vaccines.

CCIC MISSION:
MISSION STATEMENT:
It shall be the mission of the Chester County Immunization
Coalition to promote recommended immunizations for all Chester
County residents across the lifespan.

GOALS:
* Advocate countywide public and professional
immunization education efforts
* Facilitate and support sustained partnerships among
community immunization stakeholders and the Chester
County Health Department
* Inform and advocate policy issues relating to
immunizations
* Promote awareness of proper vaccine storage, handling,
and documentation
* Support the Pennsylvania Immunization Coalition's
statewide initiatives

CCIC MEMBERSHIP:
CCIC will be an organization of volunteers consisting of
individuals and/or individuals representing organizations that have
an interest in advancing the mission and goals of the CCIC. Any
interested individual may join if he/she agrees to adhere to the
mission. For more information, please contact: Laura Harbage,
RN, Chair of the Chester County Immunization Coalition, via
email at lharbage@chesco.org or call 610-344-5565.

The success of high vaccine coverage in our community
depends on medical providers. The current system of care
may not fully support point-of-service vaccine administration
in the medical office, but there is a growing network that can
fill the gap.

SUMMER 2017 | CHESTER COUNT Y Medicine 17
http://chestercms.org/index.html https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-vaccine-handbook-app/id1043246009?ls=1&mt=8 https://www.vaccinefinder.org/
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of CCMS Medicine Summer 2017
