Patients suffering from kidney disease need to ensure they stay up to date on their current vaccinations. One significant renal disease challenge is the higher risks of infection that are ultimately mitigated by vaccines. A proactive vaccination approach simply reduces the chances of illness, hospitalization, and even death.
Community pharmacies play an increasingly important role in improving vaccination rates for patients with kidney disease. A recent project focused on this goal involved our sister organization, CPESN Community Health, partnering with the American Society for Nephrology (ASN) and Innovative Renal Care (IRC).
The goal of this initiative was to provide educational information on vaccines to kidney patients at dialysis centers. The study tracked the subsequent vaccination rates. Let’s take a closer look at the project and its subsequent findings in more detail.
Examining the Vaccination Project for Kidney Disease Patients
As noted earlier, the ASN and IRC partnered with our team at CPESN Community Health on this undertaking. The pilot project included two CPESN CH pharmacies hosting vaccination clinics at three IRC dialysis centers. The centers were located in Augusta, GA, and Jacksonville, FL.
At each dialysis center, a community pharmacist or community health worker provided patients with vaccination information. They also directly administered vaccines on-site to any interested patients.
Keeping up with their vaccinations benefits all kidney disease patients.
This approach highlights the increased use of pharmacists and CHWs actually providing direct patient care. It’s an emerging concept aimed at reducing the adverse effects of healthcare deserts across the country.
Exploring the Benefits of the Pilot Project
The multiple benefits of this project highlight the growing importance of community pharmacies as providers of direct patient care. Let’s take a closer look at the most important ones.
· Patients trust Community Pharmacists: The fact that patients trust advice from an expert pharmacist enhances their openness towards vaccine messaging.
· Access to a Wide Array of Vaccines: The community pharmacies in this project provided multiple critical vaccines, including Shingles, RSV, and COVID-19.
· Operational Relief to the Dialysis Center Staff: The pharmacists handled all vaccinations as well as managing the vaccine inventory. This freed the dialysis center staff to focus on their own duties.
· Enhanced Patient Experience: Having the vaccinations available at the dialysis center offered more convenience to patients.
These meaningful project benefits illustrate the tangible difference made by having community pharmacies provide patient care. They increasingly play a critical role in enhancing healthcare in underserved regions across the country.
The Vaccination Pilot Project showed Promising Results
In short, this project significantly raised the vaccination rates among kidney disease patients at all three dialysis centers. Check out these encouraging results:
· An increase of 193 percent in Shingles vaccinations
· An increase of 583 percent in RSV vaccinations
· An increase of 1033 percent in COVID-19 vaccinations
Additionally, the community pharmacists involved in the project noted the rewarding nature of interacting with the patients. Ultimately, this initiative revealed the tangible impact made by community pharmacies as well as their pharmacists and CHWs. Expect these essential healthcare professionals to continue to make a positive difference in healthcare now and in the future.
For more information on this project, check out this article at Kidney News.
