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Calculating a clinic's childhood immunization rate. Costs and returns
1Shasta-Cascade Family Practice Residency, University of California, Davis, USA.
Insights
Determining pediatric immunization rates in family practice clinics is cost-effective, revealing key barriers like parental refusal and missed appointments. This analysis helps improve childhood immunization coverage.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Public Health
- Health Services Research
Background:
- Pediatric immunization rates are crucial for community health.
- Assessing these rates in family practice settings can identify challenges.
- Understanding the costs associated with immunization rate determination is important for resource allocation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the cost of calculating the pediatric immunization rate within a family practice clinic.
- To identify barriers affecting pediatric immunization completion.
Main Methods:
- A medical records audit and cost analysis were conducted.
- The study included 282 patients aged 2 months to 2 years at a family medicine residency training clinic.
- Data collected included project costs, hours, immunization rates, and identified barriers.
Main Results:
- The total cost for the project was $1320.25.
- The initial immunization rate was 69%, increasing to 73.4% after accounting for external immunizations.
- Immunization rates decreased with age, with the highest rate (83%) in 2-3 month olds. Barriers included parental refusal, missed appointments, and inadequate documentation.
Conclusions:
- Calculating pediatric immunization rates in family practice clinics is feasible and has a modest cost.
- This process raises awareness of immunization barriers.
- The findings support initiatives to increase childhood immunization rates.
Objective:
To analyze the cost of determining the pediatric immunization rate of a family practice clinic.
Design:
Medical records audit and cost analysis.
Setting:
A family medicine residency training clinic.
Patients/Participants:
All clinic patients aged 2 months to 2 years, totaling 282 medical records.
Main Outcome Measures:
Cost and hours needed to complete the project, pediatric immunization rate, and barriers to pediatric immunizations.
Results:
The total project cost was $1320.25. Sixty-nine percent of the study group was up-to-date on immunizations. Additional patients were found to have received immunizations from the local health department, which increased the immunization rate to 73.4%. The immunization rate declined significantly with age. The highest rate was 83% for children between the ages of 2 and 3 months. Immunization barriers included parental refusal, missed appointments, and inappropriate withholding of vaccinations. Only 13 records clearly documented why the child was behind on immunizations.
Conclusions:
Calculating a family practice clinic's immunization rate can be easy and has modest costs. The return is an awareness of immunization barriers and the potential to increase the childhood immunization rate.