Expanding the role of community pharmacy technicians to increase vaccinations for patients aged 65 years and older

Abstract

Objective: The primary objective of this study is to determine the effect on vaccination uptake after training community pharmacy technicians to identify vaccinations needed in high-risk patients. Secondary objectives include an assessment of the pharmacy technicians' opinions on incorporating patient vaccination screening into the workflow process as well as the effect of patient demographics and characteristics on uptake of vaccinations. Methods: Pharmacies in a supermarket chain in the Mid-Atlantic Richmond, Virginia area were ranked in the order of highest to lowest percentage of patients ≥65 years of age and pharmacies with higher percentages of patients ≥65 years of age were selected to participate in the study. Twenty-two part-time and full-time pharmacy technicians are employed at the selected pharmacies. Pharmacy technicians will be trained by the community pharmacy resident to identify and screen patients ≥65 years of age for necessary vaccines by reviewing the Virginia Immunization Information System, the pharmacy patient profile, and a patient questionnaire. After screening the patient and determining vaccination status, the technician will provide informational brochures about recommended vaccines and, if the patient agrees, the pharmacist will administer the vaccines. Outcomes of the screening and recommendations will be documented by the technician. The intervention portion of the study will be conducted for 4 months and will include approximately 200 patients. The number of vaccinations administered as a result of this study will be compared with the number of vaccinations administered at the same pharmacies during the same time frame of the previous year. At the end of the intervention, the pharmacy technicians will complete a survey about their opinions on the incorporation of patient vaccination screening into workflow processes. In addition, patient questionnaires will be analyzed to determine the effect of patient demographics and characteristics on vaccination uptake.