We’ve heard for a long time about ways to elevate our profession. With much of the care and service we give in pharmacy being tied to a product, it’s hazy to understand what it means to practice at the top of our license. Now that the main immunizing season is over, let's look at how vaccines have done that for us over time.
How Far Pharmacist-Led Vaccinations Have Come
Since the late 90’s, immunizations have been a way for pharmacists to provide both a product and a service and to elevate the profession in the minds of our patients. While many pioneers led the way, we pharmacists also had our own version of vaccine hesitancy in those early years. I graduated pharmacy school before certification was part of the curriculum, and so when H1N1 hit my first year out, it was a scramble to get as many of us newbies trained as we could. I had great mentors that helped me learn, and I have since rolled up my sleeve a few times to help a new pharmacist give their first shot. But we eventually got there, and when a pandemic hit requiring a massive immunization effort, pharmacists were ready to meet the need head on. Now, estimates range between 85-90% of all vaccines are being given in pharmacies.
As the WHO celebrates World Immunizations Week April 23-30th, their site boasts the achievements of vaccines. “Vaccines are one of humanity’s greatest achievements. Since 1974, they’ve saved 154 million lives – that’s more than 3 million lives a year or six people every minute for five decades.”1
The Data
To join the celebration, we want to use the Outcomes Index to share some stats of our own.
- The Outcomes network of U.S pharmacies gave over 6.6 Million vaccines in 2024,
- The average pharmacy gave nearly 300 vaccines in the three month period of September, October and November, 2024.
- That meant that 85% of all vaccines were given during 25% of the year, a spike that is consistent with previous years.
- Of those, over 78,000 vaccines were given as a result of an automated text or call out reminder.
Some key takeaways:
- An average pharmacy vaccinates roughly 20% of their active patients in a short window of time.
- Automated flu shot reminders work, and expanding their use will increase vaccination numbers and improve scheduling in the pharmacy.
- With a trend of “vaccine-hesitancy”, pharmacists are the key providers to help disclaim these concerns. More on that here.
The Outcomes platform helps absorb the spike by having a fully integrated way to recommend and schedule a vaccination, as well as then report it to the applicable state immunization registry. Also, inside the Outcomes environment, the product can be billed to a drug benefit and the administration to a medical benefit, if needed; earning the pharmacy the dual components that should be paid with each vaccine given. All of this works together so that future analytics and recommendations can be made.
Using Outcomes to manage your fall flu shot season makes sense. There’s even more to gain by using Outcomes year round to boost your vaccination rates.
Looking Forward
As we enter a phase where making America healthy is in vogue, we have a new opportunity ahead of us. As patients, and healthcare in general, look for answers, we pharmacists will continue raising our hands as the solution to reduce costs, even prevent illness, and improve outcomes (pun intended).
Clinical services have always been part of our profession, but the billing feels new. Like our early struggles with RPh-vaccine-hesitancy, we will have many of our own who are not quite ready to move forward with getting paid for their clinical expertise. As Outcomes continues to pioneer and help you lead the way, it will both encourage them and continue piling up the data that confirms the merits. And that’s something we all can get behind.
If you need a refresher on how Outcomes can work for you, please reach out and learn. Also tune in next month when we take a data-first look at how to improve the clinical services you can offer for the ladies you care for.
Got a topic you’d like for us to dig into the data on? Send an email to indexinfo@outcomes.com to chat further or fill out the short form below!
