PMID: 16515373Mar 7, 2006Paper

Suboptimal pneumococcal pneumonia vaccination rates among patients at risk in a managed care organization in Israel

Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy : JMCP
Natan R KahanDavid P Chinitz

Abstract

Pneumococcal pneumonia is a vaccine-preventable disease that poses a significant threat to immunocompromised patients. Vaccination rates tend to be low despite recommendations for vaccination in several groups of high-risk patients including any person aged 65 years or older. The purpose of this study was to (a) evaluate the vaccination rates among high-risk patients in a managed care setting in Israel and (b) gain a better understanding of the factors associated with suboptimal use of this vaccine. Data were extracted from the electronic medical records of the managed care organization for patients with dates of service from January 2000 to December 2004 for whom the vaccine is recommended. Patients were identified via diagnosis codes according to the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM). Vaccination rates were calculated for patients in each disease category. These high-risk patients were contacted to participate in a telephone survey to evaluate the variance in knowledge and awareness levels of the disease between the vaccinated and unvaccinated patients. A total of 672 patients were identified by the ICD-9-CM codes; 140 (20.8%) had been vaccinated and 532 (79.2%) were un...Continue Reading

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