As more people seek influenza vaccinations

at community pharmacies, pharmacists have the ability to identify at-risk patients, educate them on benefits of PPSV, and provide concurrent vaccinations. Therefore, the objective of this study was see more to evaluate the impact of pharmacists educating at-risk patients on the importance of receiving a pneumococcal vaccination. The study hypothesis was that PPSV coverage would be greater for patients who were identified as at-risk for IPD by pharmacists during influenza vaccination compared to patients in traditional care. When patients received influenza immunizations at a pharmacy, the pharmacist asked patients about their risk of pneumococcal disease (e.g., age, smoking status, co-morbid conditions). Pharmacists recommended PPSV if any risk was identified and the patient had not previously been vaccinated. For every immunization administered, a physician

notification letter is generated and either given to the patient or sent to their primary care physician. Pharmacy claims data, which contain vaccination records from Walgreens’ Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW) between November 15, 2009 and November 14, 2010, were included in the analysis. Influenza pneumococcal vaccinations were defined as pharmacy fills for the relevant vaccinations. To focus on PPSV education concurrent with an influenza vaccination, a sample was derived of all patients who had been immunized for influenza www.selleckchem.com/products/AZD8055.html between August 1, 2010 and November 14, 2010. This sample was further limited oxyclozanide to patients who had evidence of at least two non-influenza prescriptions to identify them as regular Walgreens customers with sufficient data to infer whether they had a chronic

condition. Finally, because revaccination with PPSV is not recommended within 5 years, and only four years of EDW data was available, patients with evidence of a previous PPSV claims were excluded. As outlined by ACIP, at-risk patients were identified in pharmacy claims data as aged 65 and older or as aged 2–64 with a comorbid conditions. Comorbid conditions were defined as conditions identified in the ACIP recommendations for PPSV, which included pulmonary disease, cardiovascular disease, liver disease, anatomic asplenia, diabetes, and immune compromising conditions (e.g., HIV, leukemia, malignancy). Although smoking status was also considered at-risk per ACIP guidelines, this variable was not available in pharmacy claims data. To derive a comparison PPSV vaccination rate typical of traditional care delivery, Walgreens contracted with Solucia Consulting to identify PPSV vaccinations within Solucia’s national medical and pharmacy claims database of commercial and Medicare health plan members. Due to medical claims lag, 2010 data were not available, and a blended average PPSV rate was calculated based on 2008 and 2009 influenza seasons.