• Listen Live NOW!
  • On Demand
  • Ways to Listen
  • All Shows
    • Radio Shows
      • 1st Talk Compliance
      • FINN Voices
      • Harlow on Healthcare
      • Healthcare De Jure
      • Healthcare IT Today
      • Healthcare Upside/Down
      • Health UnaBASHEd
      • Payment Matters
      • PopHealth Week
      • The Incrementalist
      • The Scope with Dr. K
      • The Tate Chronicles
      • The Virtual Shift
      • This Just In Radio Show
      • Trending NOW
      • Value-Based Care Insights
    • Podcast Shows
      • 4sight Health Roundup
      • Ambulatory Healthcare Today
      • AMCP Podcast Series – Listen Up
      • Ask the Educator
      • Beyond the Needle
      • Conversations on Health Care
      • Healthcare Changemakers
      • Healthcare Rap
      • Healthcare Mixtape
      • HealthLaw HotSpot
      • Hello Healthcare Podcast
      • The Brain Trust
      • The Digital Patient
      • The Handoff
    • Monthly Podcast Shows
      • Follow the (Medical) Record
      • How I Transformed This
      • Life-Centered Health Care
      • Paving the Path
      • Tell Me Where IT Hurts
      • The Dish on Health IT
      • The Healthusiasm Podcast
      • Trauma-Informed Life
      • Voices of Change
      • Voices of Self Funding
      • What Consumers Want
      • What’s My Tagline
  • Playlists
  • NursesNOW
    • Nursing News
      • Organizations
      • Podcasts
  • Request Media Kit
  • Contact Us
Event Calendar
HealthcareNOWradio.comHealthcareNOWradio.com
  • Listen Live NOW!
  • On Demand
  • Ways to Listen
  • All Shows
    • Radio Shows
      • 1st Talk Compliance
      • FINN Voices
      • Harlow on Healthcare
      • Healthcare De Jure
      • Healthcare IT Today
      • Healthcare Upside/Down
      • Health UnaBASHEd
      • Payment Matters
      • PopHealth Week
      • The Incrementalist
      • The Scope with Dr. K
      • The Tate Chronicles
      • The Virtual Shift
      • This Just In Radio Show
      • Trending NOW
      • Value-Based Care Insights
    • Podcast Shows
      • 4sight Health Roundup
      • Ambulatory Healthcare Today
      • AMCP Podcast Series – Listen Up
      • Ask the Educator
      • Beyond the Needle
      • Conversations on Health Care
      • Healthcare Changemakers
      • Healthcare Rap
      • Healthcare Mixtape
      • HealthLaw HotSpot
      • Hello Healthcare Podcast
      • The Brain Trust
      • The Digital Patient
      • The Handoff
    • Monthly Podcast Shows
      • Follow the (Medical) Record
      • How I Transformed This
      • Life-Centered Health Care
      • Paving the Path
      • Tell Me Where IT Hurts
      • The Dish on Health IT
      • The Healthusiasm Podcast
      • Trauma-Informed Life
      • Voices of Change
      • Voices of Self Funding
      • What Consumers Want
      • What’s My Tagline
  • Playlists
  • NursesNOW
    • Nursing News
      • Organizations
      • Podcasts
  • Request Media Kit
  • Contact Us

New Study: Patients Could Save Time and Money If Neighborhood Pharmacies Can Administer More Vaccines

Apr 25, 2018 | Posted by Industry News | Healthcare, HIT Feed, News |

Patients could save time and money if federal law is reformed to allow pharmacists to administer all CDC recommended vaccines, a new study released by the Pacific Research Institute (@PacificResearch) found.

“Adult vaccines can improve people’s health, but our nation’s vaccine rates are unacceptably low. Making vaccines more accessible and less expensive will help reverse this trend,” said Dr. Wayne Winegarden, author of “Promoting Access and Lowering Costs in Health Care.”

Too many people become sick, are hospitalized, or die from vaccine-preventable illnesses each year. For example, about 900,000 people get pneumococcal pneumonia each year, leading to 400,000 hospitalizations and 19,000 deaths.

The recommended “herd immunity threshold” to stop the spread of a disease is typically 95 percent, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that adult vaccination rates are very low. The target vaccination rate for the pneumonia vaccine for patients 65 years or older is 90 percent, yet less than 64 percent of older Americans are vaccinated today.

Right now, pharmacists are subject to a patchwork of laws in each state that are effectively barriers to vaccines being administered at neighborhood pharmacies. While flu shots are readily available, other commonly-prescribed vaccines such as the shingles vaccine or pneumococcal pneumonia, are not. This access barrier exists even though pharmacists receive vaccination training in their pharmacy school education.

Among the findings of Winegarden’s study:

  • Reforming the system would increase vaccination rates and would allow patients to obtain vaccines at more convenient hours, such as lunchtime, evenings, or weekends.
  • In a comparison, pharmacies were found to administer vaccines at lower costs than doctor’s offices and medical clinics. For example, one study found that it costs $208.72 on average to receive a shingles vaccine at a doctor’s office, versus $168.50 at a pharmacy.
  • Reform would let patients get vaccines much closer to their homes or offices, as pharmacies are typically just a short drive away. It would also improve access to health care in rural areas, which often don’t have convenient access to doctors and clinics.

“In many states, outdated state laws unjustifiably limit patients’ access to vaccinations from providers who may be more convenient and less expensive,” Winegarden said. “By reforming the laws, patients can get their next shingles or pneumonia shot at their neighborhood pharmacy – and save money, too!”

Dr. Wayne Winegarden is a Senior Fellow in Business and Economics at Pacific Research Institute. He is also the Principal of Capitol Economic Advisors and a Managing Editor for EconoSTATS.

The Pacific Research Institute champions freedom, opportunity, and personal responsibility by advancing free-market policy ideas.

Share on twitter
Twitter
Share on linkedin
Linkedin
Share on facebook
Facebook
Share on pinterest
Pinterest
Share on reddit
Reddit
Share on email
Email
Share this...
Tags: CDCPacific Research Institutepatient experienceVaccines

Radio for the Healthcare Industry

No HTML5 audio playback capabilities for this browser. Use Chrome Browser!

Categories

Follow Us on Twitter

My Tweets

About HealthcareNOWRadio.com

HealthcareNOWradio.com is an Internet radio station operated and produced as part of Answers Media Network. The station offers interviews, and commentary from industry leaders in healthcare and health information technology, as well as originally produced programming hosted by industry leaders. Listen on any device 24/7. You can also subscribe to get notification when a new show airs.

Sign Up for Our e-News Digest

Get notified when a new show airs or when your favorites are available as podcasts. Sign up here.

Our News Media Site

Connect with Us

Contact Us

Contact a Host

Media Kit

Listening Guide

 

Follow Us

Our Radio Hosts on Twitter

Tweets by @HCNowRadio

©2023 Answers Media Company, LLC

  • HealthcareNOW Radio Media Kit
  • Contact Us
  • Our Privacy Policy
  • Our Guests and Recording Policy
Prev Next