Managed Healthcare Executive - February 2009 - (Page 21) { PHARMACY BEST PRACTICES } Personal preference among reasons for vaccine refusal Parents more likely to ensure their kids are vaccinated when plans provide education and free service BY MARI EDLIN T Mari Edlin is a frequent contributor to MANAGED HEALTHCARE EXECUTIVE. She is based in Sonoma, Calif. HINGS HAVE CERTAINLY CHANGED since the 1950s and 1960s. Baby boomers probably recall standing in line in the elementary school auditorium for an oral polio vaccine. Today, some parents are up in arms about the battery of immunizations facing their schoolage children—from in uenza and hepatitis B to pneumococcal conjugate and human papillomavirus (HPV), not to mention measles-mumpsrubella (MMR), varicella (chicken pox) and tetanus-diphtheria-acellular pertussis (DTaP). Some refuse inoculation based on religious or medical reasons, such as the questionable rela- tionship between vaccines and autism. Brenda Gleason, president, M2 Health Care Consulting LLC, based in Washington, D.C., says there are other barriers to childhood and adult vaccinations, including timeliness and speci city of the vaccine. New Jersey has become the rst state to require u shots for young schoolchildren who are attending licensed daycare and preschool programs. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), recently recommended that children six months to 18 years should get a u vaccination—adding about 30 million children to the number of people for whom the CDC recommends an inuenza vaccine. “If states don’t take responsibility, parents may refuse,” says Melanie Corch, quality improvement nurse manager for Geisinger Health Plan headquartered in Danville, Pa. “If the vaccines are mandatory, there will be higher rates.” On the other hand, she is not convinced that making vaccines mandatory is the way to go. “Parents have a right to refuse but should be aware of the rami cations,” she adds. As an integrated healthcare system, Geisinger is in the driver’s seat when it comes to delivery of care, Corch says. The plan relies on personal phone calls and written materials to update physicians about current CDC guidelines and to remind members about getting recommended immunizations. “It is understandable that states would FEBRUARY 2009 Carlos Davila/Photographer’s Choice RF/Getty Images 21
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