A team of faculty at the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy (PittPharmacy) in partnership with Giant Eagle Pharmacy has received an award by the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) in conjunction with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to develop and implement a comprehensive approach to improve vaccination rates in adults in Western Pennsylvania. Kim Coley, PharmD, FCCP is the lead investigator of the PittPharmacy team that also includes Drs. Lucas Berenbrok, Philip Empey, Deanne Hall and Melissa McGivney. Co-investigators from Giant Eagle are Drs. Chiara Gessler, Chrissy Jordan, Renee Richardson, and Mr. John DeJames.
The main aim of this work is to develop and evaluate a value-based model that incentivizes community pharmacies to increase vaccination rates for influenza, herpes zoster, pertussis, and pneumococcal vaccines. The team is working closely with the Pennsylvania Department of Health to increase the frequency at which adult vaccination data is shared between community pharmacies and Pennsylvania’s Statewide Immunization Information System. PittPharmacy will be testing a smartphone app to empower patients to manage their vaccination history and promote accurate vaccine data sharing with other health care providers. The final component of this project will be to help prepare community pharmacies to provide vaccines during pandemics. The team will work with local and state health agencies to develop a strategic plan that provides community pharmacies with guidance and tools for pandemic preparedness. The learning from this project will assist patients to have better access to immunizations in their communities through their local pharmacist.
Photo Above Left: PittPharmacy’s Hannah Renner, Philip Empey, Kim Coley, Luke Berenbrok, Melissa McGivney
Photo Above Right: Giant Eagle members sitting left to right: Chiara Gessler, Renee Richardson, Chrissy Jordan; standing: John DeJames
