Here is our annual Flu Vaccine Checklist that we pull off the shelf each August with updated links to help us think about a “Flu Clinic in the Age of COVID” with a special shout out to @skressly whose webinar we are making mandatory listening to key staff involved in our flu clinic readiness.
Very helpful! Are you adding any additional questions to your contraindication screening / consent form? i.e. COVID positive? positive exposure within last 14 days? current temperature?
@jdybdal we use Phreesia for remote check in and the flu vaccine visit type will have both the COVID risk screening and the flu screening questions loaded to be asked as part of the check in process.
We use Phreesia as well. Some of my pediatricians are questioning the need for the COVID screening for drive-thru flu clinics. They want to just have signs at the site and not have patients do the phreesia screen (stating that it takes too long and slows down the flow - patients not filling out the forms prior to arriving). Any thoughts on this?
@achaffin I think in this case there are a lot of right answers and so much depends on your particular variables.
In my dream world, all check in is completed prior to the visit (which then includes COVID screening, as well as the flu vaccine questionnaire) and the vaccine is scanned with the bar code scanner prior to administration.
From my perspective, it is an efficient way to check all the safety boxes.
In the real world, I have had to trust the RN staff who I know are equally committed to patient safety and to the safety of their co-workers, and are the ones doing the work. In our organization, we give a lot of latitude to the people doing the work to instruct our workflows.
As long as everyone is equally committed to safety and quality outcomes and are willing to be held accountable for those outcomes, then the organization will be stronger in the long run for letting the people who do the work specify the processes.
In this case, the RNs are more comfortable sometimes verbally asking the questions and putting the bar code scan on a piece of paper next to the patient’s name. I don’t love that solution, but I respect the team. It doesn’t mean I don’t stop asking questions
So, short answer, if the people doing the work think they have a better way that still meets the organization’s safety and quality standards, then you will be happier in the long run if you listen to them.