Impact of the Introduction of a Vaccination Status Checkbox in Electronic Medical Records on Pneumococcal Vaccination Rates

• Published in: Juntendo Iji Zasshi = Juntendo Medical Journal Vol. 65; no. 1; pp. 92 - 94
• Main Authors: SUZUKI, MAI, NAITO, TOSHIO, SHIMADA, YOSUKE, ABE, NOBUJIRO, OHNO, MINORU, HORI, SATOSHI, YOKOKAWA, HIROHIDE, FUKUSHIMA, SHINICHI
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: The Juntendo Medical Society 2019
• Subjects: electronic medical records; pneumococcal vaccine; public subsidies; quality indicator
• ISSN: 2187-9737; 2188-2126; 2188-2126
• DOI: 10.14789/jmj.2019.65.JMJ18-Re01

Objective: It has been reported that vaccination rates with pneumococcal vaccine are low in elderly persons in Japan. The primary aim of this study was to examine whether introduction of a vaccination status checkbox in electronic medical records increased the vaccination rates.Materials and Methods: Subjects were inpatients and outpatients of the Department of General Medicine at Juntendo University Hospital between April 1, 2016 and March 31, 2018. The vaccination rates of individuals ≥65 years old were calculated based on a checkbox in the electronic medical records.Results: A total of 30,580 people ≥65 years of age were evaluated. The vaccination rate (19.5%) for individuals ≥65 years old after introducing a regular vaccination schedule was significantly higher than the vaccination rate (8.4%) before introducing the schedule (p<0.01).Conclusions: With the introduction of a regular vaccination schedule for the 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccination targeting elderly individuals since October 2014 in Japan, the vaccination rate was shown to be improved by the introduction of a checkbox to indicate a patient’s vaccination status in the electronic medical records. Vaccination rates with pneumococcal vaccine in elderly persons might be a good quality indicator for primary care physicians.