Improving Immunization Collaboration Among Pharmacists and Other Healthcare Providers - Financed Solely by PPHF 2015 Prevention and Public Health Funds

The summary for the Improving Immunization Collaboration Among Pharmacists and Other Healthcare Providers - Financed Solely by PPHF 2015 Prevention and Public Health Funds grant is detailed below. This summary states who is eligible for the grant, how much grant money will be awarded, current and past deadlines, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) numbers, and a sampling of similar government grants. Verify the accuracy of the data FederalGrants.com provides by visiting the webpage noted in the Link to Full Announcement section or by contacting the appropriate person listed as the Grant Announcement Contact. If any section is incomplete, please visit the website for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is the U.S. government agency offering this grant.

Improving Immunization Collaboration Among Pharmacists and Other Healthcare Providers - Financed Solely by PPHF 2015 Prevention and Public Health Funds: Progress on public health goals of immunization will depend on a higher standard of collaboration among pharmacists and other health care providers.
The purpose of this FOA is to demonstrate successful models of collaboration between pharmacists and other healthcare providers in a way that ensures up-to-date vaccination status of their shared patients.
Stalled progress in raising some categories of immunization rates could be overcome if pharmacists and other healthcare providers could achieve a higher level of "immunization collaboration." Better collaboration between pharmacists and other healthcare providers is needed because of the increasing interdependence of pharmacists and other clinicians. Pharmacists are providing a higher percentage of immunization than in previous years. With that comes the need to strengthen their collaboration with other healthcare providers.
Stronger immunization collaboration would be characterized by the following:
Primary care providers are efficiently informed of vaccination provided by pharmacists.
Both pharmacists and other healthcare providers use immunization information systems (IIS) for assessing vaccination status
Every vaccination is recorded in state-based immunization information systems.
Consumers have easier access to their immunization records.
Better systems are developed for managing, tracking and reporting adverse events. Includes improved use of VAERS as the routine procedure in the case of adverse events.
Innovative effective approaches are developed that demonstrate stronger immunization collaboration among pharmacists and other healthcare providers.
Ongoing quality improvement efforts identify and address missed opportunities
Successful models of immunization collaboration demonstrate how to identify missed opportunities and take actions to vaccinate.
Dissemination and outreach to a national audience of healthcare providers spark immunization collaboration in their communities.
Preparedness is ensured, in case of future disease outbreaks

Three challenges in immunization will be supported when a greater degree of immunization collaboration is in place, linking pharmacists and other healthcare providers. These three important public health challenges are:
To achieve series completion of three-dose recommendation for HPV vaccination.
To ensure adult patients are up-to-date on the full array of recommended vaccines.
To ensure pharmacies are engaged with public health programs in the area of pandemic vaccine preparedness.
This FOA seeks models that demonstrate successful approaches for ensuring patients are up-to-date on recommended immunizations. Measures that demonstrate HPV vaccination series completion, better pandemic vaccine preparedness and increased adult vaccination rates are the desired long-term outcomes.
In the first phase of the project, efforts will focus on implementing successful models of collaboration in the clinic setting on a local or regional level. In the second phase of the project, efforts will focus on implementing successful models of collaboration on a national level.
The application should propose a local-level plan to occur in a clinical setting with adolescent and adult patients, as well as a national plan.
Applicant organizations must demonstrate a significant and active membership of pharmacists, as outlined in the Organizational Capacity section of the FOA.
Applications should describe a technical package of activities designed to ensure up-to-date vaccination status among a group of patients shared by pharmacists and other healthcare providers. The technical package of activities should rely on evidence-based strategies, but may propose innovative approaches for selecting, combining or implementing strategies.
Project activities will likely be described in these categories, but other categories may be proposed:
Provider Education/Outreach
Changes in Patient Care Procedures
Quality Improvement Efforts
Pandemic Preparedness Activities
Improved Immunization Documentation and Data Sharing
On the clinical practice level: Evidence-based interventions have been described in the Community Guide of the Preventive Services Task Force. These include reminder-recall, standing orders, use of immunization information systems. On the national level, strategies to achieve changes in provider behavior or knowledge are still being developed, so impactful successful approaches are needed.