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, conclude that the “Use of patient-held vaccination records is an easily implemented strategy that is associated with increased immunization rates. A greater effect was seen in groups at risk for underimmunization. Methods to incorporate and to ensure effective use of these records should be implemented” The article was published in Pediatrics in February of 2010. The full citation is as follows: Pediatrics 2010;125;e467-e472; originally published online Feb 15, 2010; DOI: 10.1542/peds.2009-0835. The online version of this article, along with updated information and services also available.

A Shot of Quality Improvement!

Welcome to Immu-News, the Immunization Initiatives listserv, a monthly resource for the community of participants in this project.

All health care delivery organizations are required to have quality assurance and quality improvement programs, but it is often difficult to make these efforts really meaningful in the everyday practice of serving patients. This month’s Immu-News suggests a number of immunization quality measurements that you can adapt to your local setting. We are finding from our site visits that many of you really struggle with understanding who is getting immunized, who is missed, and what the root causes are for the gap between your goal of full immunization and the present reality at your center. Additionally, immunization data gathering is often very time consuming, often duplicated several times over for various outside agencies, and often not in step with the ways changes are made in other parts of your organization. Here are a few ideas from us, and we welcome responses back from you that will continually improve immunization practices.

Addressing the Big Four: On-Time Immunizations, Knowing Your Baseline, Making Improvement, and Accurate Records

Our four quality topics will cover:

• Immunization reminder systems
• Baseline immunization rate audits
• Measuring success
• Patient self-management in record retrieval

Resources

• PDSA Worksheet for Testing Change
• Immunization Audit Summary
• Manual Immunization Audit

Este recurso del CDC ofrece una visión general de la tos ferina , también conocida como Whooping Cough. Los temas incluyen síntomas , propagación, la tos ferina en los EE.UU. y las medidas de prevención.

This resources provides an overview of Pertussis, also known as the Whooping Cough. Topics include symptoms, how its spread, Pertussis in the US and prevention measures.

This brochure was created by the Migrant Clinicians Network Diabetes Program with funding from the Texas Department of Health Diabetes Program / Council. Brochure details basic information on Acanthosis Nigricans. Available in Spanish and English.

It Takes the Whole Team: Staff Roles in ImmunizationWelcome to Immu-News, the Immunization Initiatives listserv, a monthly resource for the community of participants in this project.Our topic for the month is It Takes the Whole Team:  Staff Roles in Immunization.  As you know, we’ve been calling each of the Project clinics over the last months and wanted to share with you some interesting ideas about who plays what part in immunization at our clinics.Of course, we all think immediately about the providers and nurses, the people most likely to administer the vaccines.  But who orders the vaccines, who checks the supplies, who keeps the logs, who books the appointments, who enters the data, who tracks it, and who encourages the clients to come in to the clinic to get the shot?It could be at some clinics that one or two people do most or all of these jobs, while at other clinics, they may be divided up among three or four or more people.  What works at your clinic and why?  Does the hand that gives the shot know what the other hands are doing?  How is recording and tracking immunization data a team effort? How can the receptionist, the billing clerk, and the outreach worker all be a crucial part of the picture?Read on for information about the following:

1. Experience: A checklist of all the different tasks necessary to arrive at your clinic’s immunization goals, gathered from our recent phone calls to you.
2. Research: the collaborative approach--how successful are systems that incorporate the receptionist or the outreach worker into the immunization goals of the clinic?

 Introductory overview of occupational health policy by Farmworker Justice.

FDA Alert:  Conusmers, especially pregnant or breastfeeding women, should avoid consuming a product called “Nzu”, taken as a traditional remedy for morning sickness, because of the potential health risks from high levels of lead and arsenic.

http://www.neefusa.org/health/asthma/asthmaguidelines.htm

These guidelines are aimed at integrating environmental management of asthma into pediatric health care. Offers clinical competencies in environmental health relevant to pediatric asthma and outlines the environmental interventions to communicate to patients.

This table for healthcare providers and planners provides information related to spacing between the two doses of 2009 H1N1 Vaccine for children 6 months through 9 years of age.

Continuing education course developed by the Occupational Lead Poisoning Prevention Program, California Department of Public Health.  Can view it for information or can register for credits.

This hour long webcast features Jennie McLaurin, MD, MPH – a former medical director of a migrant and community health center and a pediatrician with over 20 years of practice serving farmworker and immigrant populations.