Summer is a great time to get your young patients up to date on their vaccines, immunizations, and boosters as they come in to comply with school or daycare requirements. Be sure to refer your patients for dental care, too.
Here are some helpful tips to engage with parents and help improve immunization rates:
- Review and ensure accurate and thorough chart prep before the appointment.
- Review chart for immunizations gaps.
- Proactively outreach parents to schedule appointments for their children.
- Educate your care teams about scheduling visits within the guideline time frames.
- Continue to ensure at each appointment (even sick visits), that immunization records are reviewed and encourage the opportunity to catch up on missed immunizations.
- Advise parents on the importance of completing each vaccine series timely.
Provide handouts on the diseases/illnesses that the vaccines prevent.
As you know, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends immunizations at specific ages.
Follow the guidelines for ages 7 to 18 and 6 and under and see more information and resources on childhood immunizations and health activities on the CDC website. Your influence is key in the development, health, and well-being of children.
This is a quality measure based on the American Academy of Pediatrics Bright Futures: Guidelines for Health Supervision of Infants, Children and Adolescents (published by the National Center for Education in Maternal and Child Health).
JP 62643 07/2023