Over the last three years, we have touched on many topics that we hoped would help you as you work to improve immunization rates in your clinic. For the final edition, we return to the important issue of patient-carried immunization records.
First, we offer an article that provides a convincing yes to the title question: “Are Patient-Held Vaccination Records Associated with Improved Vaccination Coverage Rates?” The authors of the article, James T. McElligott and Paul M. Darden.
As a compliment to the article, and by way of a final thank-you for your participation, MCN, along with CHEC (Community Health Education Concepts), has developed patient-friendly, low literacy, bi-lingual immunization cards for you to use with your clients. The cards are 5x7, and can be printed from your clinic computers. There are two versions, a Lifetime Card for adults, and a Child and Teen Card, both in Spanish/English. We designed the card to be as simple as possible, and to include only the most important information. If the information is meaningful and understandable to the clients, they are more likely to understand the importance of keeping their shots up to date.