The role of managed care clinical pharmacists in improving COVID-19 vaccination rates for culturally specific Medicaid populations

Abstract

Clinical pharmacists are an untapped resource in the fight against health disparities. As frontline workers, they are embedded in communities and interact on a regular basis with patients managing chronic conditions. In particular, managed care clinical pharmacists have access to population-wide data to identify gaps and mobilize resources to proactively address disparities across their community. Amid the current pandemic, there have been vast inequities regarding access to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine, particularly for low income and underserved culturally specific populations. The pandemic has provided a case study for how clinical pharmacists can collaborate across managed care and community-based settings to work toward achieving health equity. Recent data indicates that culturally specific populations have received less COVID-19 vaccines than the White population. To address this inequity, a team of clinical pharmacists at CareOregon, a health plan in Oregon that serves Medicaid, collaborated with retail pharmacists from both chain and independent pharmacies to improve COVID-19 vaccination rates for this unique population. This paper describes the process and strategies implemented to ensure vaccine access for culturally specific populations enrolled with CareOregon. Strategies to expand vaccine access to this population involved data sharing with community pharmacists, direct scheduling of culturally specific members for vaccine appointments and partnering with other stakeholders such as community-based organizations (CBOs) to provide COVID-19 vaccine confidence training. This paper also highlights the impact of the strategies to improve COVID-19 vaccination rates for this population. Lastly, challenges and barriers are addressed, as well as lessons learned from this process.