Identify patients who are in need of specific immunizations. Learn how to obtain the credentials needed to administer vaccines yourself and to provide an immunization clinic in your pharmacy. Encourage pharmacists to use their current computer systems to centralize immunization record keeping for their patients and other health care providers. Recognize the legal issues involved with pharmacy-based immunizations. Increasing the number of patients receiving immunizations and thereby reducing mortality, hospital stays, and sick days has become a top priority of both government and the private sector.
Pharmacists can contribute to that effort and, at the same time, increase pharmacy revenues.
As health care providers, pharmacists have a duty to help reduce vaccine-preventable diseases. There is a nationwide campaign to get children and adults immunized. These three opportunities will be discussed, with an emphasis on more pharmacists becoming immunizers. Pharmacists are the most accessible of health care providers and are in a setting where they can advocate immunizations to patients. Some pharmacists may focus solely on influenza and pneumococcal vaccines, but hepatitis and other children's vaccines can be included in any education program.