Diseases that could be prevented by vaccines infect thousands of American adults every year. Fortunately, there is technology – vaccines - to avoid these deaths and illnesses. However, vaccines are not used as effectively as they should be among adults to close the gap between the number of cases that could be prevented and the number that actually are prevented. There are several reasons why our adult immunization rates are so poor.

Payment for adult vaccines is much more problematic than it is for children because there is no adult equivalent of the Vaccines for Children Program, which guarantees funding for vaccines for eligible children. Federal funding for adult vaccine programs is inadequate; it does not keep pace with the increasing number of vaccines and the number of adults who lack insurance coverage for immunizations. Unlike vaccines for children and adolescents, many vaccines for adults are indicated based on the presence of risk factors and not age, which adds the variables of physician and patient memory to the compliance formula. Historically, universal vaccine recommendations have resulted in much higher adherence rates than risk-specific ones.

Presented by:
Lawrence Gelb, MD
Department of Infectious Diseases
Washington University School of Medicine
St. Louis, Missouri

Kevin High, MD, MSc
Chief, Division of Infectious Diseases
Wake Forest University School of Medicine
Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Upon completion of the CME activity, participants should be able to:

• List the steps needed to prepare a practice to prevent infections in adult patients;
• Improve the rate of immunizations among staff and adult patients;
• Establish a patient recall and reminder system that has patient education as part of a multicomponent intervention;
• Institute expanded clinic hours for immunizations; and
• Establish standing orders to allow staff to vaccinate patients.

ACOFP is accredited by the American Osteopathic Association to sponsor continuing medical education for osteopathic physicians. The ACOFP designates the podcast for 1 Category 1-B credit on an hour-for-hour basis.

This program is supported by an educational grant from Merck & Co., Inc.

Dr. Lawrence Gelb, and Dr. Kevin High have reported no devise or drug company affiliations that could represent potential conflicts of interest. This program does not include any discussion or demonstrate any pharmaceuticals or medical devices that are not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or are considered “off-labeled”.

This program is sponsored by the ACOFP for educational purposes only. The material presented is not intended to represent the only or the best methods appropriate for the medical situations discussed, but rather, are intended to present the opinions of the authors or presenters that may be helpful to other practitioners. Attendees participating in this medical education program sponsored by the ACOFP do so with full knowledge that they waive any claim they may have against the ACOFP for reliance on any information presented during these educational activities.