Best Practices for Immunization Tracking

In an employee health environment, clinicians and nurses are required to keep track of immunizations and maintain recordkeeping on a consistent basis. Aside from making sure the employee health population is vaccinated, they must stay compliant with the rules and regulations of the CDC. With so much documentation to sift through and consent forms to review, there are a few considerations that may help clinicians better track immunization testing for those in employee health.

• Send out employee immunization notices
  New hires at a hospital or medical facility are required to receive immunizations at the start of their employment. Depending on the immunization, a new hire may need to either take a new vaccine, provide proof they previously received it at another location, or fill out a declination form.  There are also different timeframes for different vaccines and different populations. As so, employee health must make sure to send out notices to employees in time so they know when they are due for testing. Net Health’s EHR software solution can assist with this process by automatically sending out said notices.
• Stay up to date with CDC regulations
  Employee health departments are also expected to abide by the latest immunization rules and regulations of the CDC. Whether or not the CDC updates their standard regulations annually or more frequently, having access to this knowledge base is important to ensuring your employees receive the best immunization care. Depending on what you are administering, as well as your employee’s risk, staying up to date will also let you know how often testing needs to be provided.
• Review Vaccine Information Statements (VISs) regularly
  Vaccine Information Statements, which are considered information sheets with the benefits and risks of a vaccine, are provided to employees before they receive an immunization. By law, VISs must also be given prior to each dose of a multi-dose series.¹ For accurate vaccine and side effects information, clinicians and nurses in employee health are recommended to consult the CDC annually. Paper copies of VISs can also be obtained through the CDC directly.
• Use a mobile immunization app for additional support
  Gone are the days when an employee had to fill out a consent form, take it to the clinic, and have it scanned. Now, with a mobile immunization app, you can enjoy the flexibility and convenience of managing your on-site immunization and having images of consent forms right at your fingertips. Net Health’s Mobile Immunization Tracking, for example, is a web-based application that can track patient verification, compile immunization data, allow for electronically recording patient consent forms, and more.

Caring for your hospital employees is just as essential as caring for your patients. Following these tracking practices is sure to provide efficient immunization management for all of your employees.

References:

¹Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Vaccine Information Statements (VISs),” April, 5, 2019.