Adherence to rotavirus vaccination quality measures in a commercially insured population

Abstract

Background: This retrospective study determined the level of compliance to rotavirus vaccination guidelines within a large, commercially insured US population, as well as compliance with PI, AC IP and HEDIS measures for rotavirus vaccination. Results: Of 162,614 patients in PI cohort, 27% did not receive rotavirus vaccinations, 24% (RV5) and 15% (RV1) had incomplete doses (p < 0.0001; RV1 vs. RV5). A total of 76% of patients completed RV5 series but not on schedule, 54% completed on schedule. A total of 85% of patients completed the RV1 series at any time, 69% completed on schedule. Among health plans, 53% of patients completed the series, 22% (RV5) and 15% (RV1) had incomplete doses (p < 0.0001). Of 2,086 physicians who treated ≥ 10 patients within the plan (regardless of vaccination status), 78% had > 50% of patients complete, 22% had > 90% of patients completed. Methods: Medical and pharmacy claims were obtained from the HealthCore Integrated Research Database. Enrolled children were stratified into PI, AC IP and HEDIS cohorts. The PI cohort was subdivided into RV5 and RV1 cohorts due to the differences in dosing schedules and patients with mixed dosing were excluded from the these two cohorts. Patients identified in the HEDIS cohort were linked to the administering physicians. Conclusion: Despite both two effective rotavirus vaccines and national immunization recommendations, rotavirus vaccination remains underutilized for infants. © 2012 Landes Bioscience.