3.5: Update Patient Immunization Schedule

Overview

The EHR or other clinical software system displays a patient’s anticipated immunization schedule routinely and updates the patient’s schedule when immunization guidelines change.

Example

If hypothetically, the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices adds a third dose of MMR vaccine at age 15, the EHR or other clinical software system provides a mechanism to update all patients’ vaccine schedules to include the newly required MMR dose.

Guidance

This capability addresses the ability of the forecasting logic to remain current. Hypothetically, if the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices were to add an additional dose of a vaccine antigen to an existing series, the system should provide a mechanism to update all patients’ vaccine schedules to include the newly required dose. Section 5.11.1.1 presents information about vaccine forecasting logic. This requirement adds the dimension of timeliness for incorporating updates to the logic. Many variables affect the timeliness of updates. General principles to address effective clinical decision support include the “Ten Commandments for Effective Clinical Decision Support.”[i]

Ten Commandments of Effective Clinical Decision Support32
1.      Speed is Everything.
2.      Anticipate Needs and Deliver in Real Time.
3.      Fit into the User’s Workflow.
4.      Little Things Can Make a Big Difference.
5.      Recognize that Physicians will Strongly Resist Stopping.
6.      Changing Direction is Easier than Stopping.
7.      Simple Interventions Work Best.
8.      Ask for Additional Information Only When You Really Need It.
9.      Monitor Impact, Get Feedback, and Response.
10.   Manage and Maintain Your Knowledge-based Systems.
  • Vendor Perspective. Vendors should have governance principles and processes to manage currency of clinical knowledge in general, and specifically for immunization-related activities.
  • Provider and Implementer Perspective. Providers should understand vendor processes and timeliness for keeping clinical knowledge current, and specifically address immunization-related content.

Test

There are no tests for this capability.

Data Elements

There are no tests for this capability.

 

[i] Bates DW, Kuperman GJ, Wang S, et.al. Ten commandments for effective clinical decision support: making the practice of evidence-based medicine a reality, J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2003;10(6):523-530. Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC264429/. Accessed 22 September 2015.