Small Changes, Healthy Babies—A Quicker Path to Vaccinations

Before this Pediatrics department began giving vaccinations in exam rooms, patients and their parents were sent to an injection clinic for all immunizations. But members sometimes had to wait up to two hours for a shot. Many families would simply skip getting the needed vaccines, rather than endure the delay. This unit-based team implemented the change, along with a few other improvements, and significantly boosted vaccine rates for their members under 2 years old.

Here's What Worked

• Giving injections in the exam room, rather than the injection clinic
• Limiting the choice for physicians to two versions of the same vaccine to choose from—instead of several
• Huddling among medical assistants and physicians once or twice a day to determine which of their incoming patients need vaccines. Medical assistants then have the shots ready for those patients