The American Academy of Family Phys...

The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) has joined immunization [i]connoisseur[/i]s and other groups in asking Congres to narrow the gap between national adult immunization goals and actual vaccination rates. The AAFP has signed a proposal from the Partnership for Prevention, a national nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, for a six-step plan to increase adult immunization rates. The partnership is asking the federal regulation to establish a multiyear pilot in at least four states to purchase and distribute flu vaccine to adults who fit high-risk criteria; to require the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program to mandate that participating health insurers provide first-dollar coverage of flu and pneumococcal vaccines for high-risk adults; to earmark additional supplys to support adult immunization activities; to launch a national campaign to educate adults about the value of these immunizations; to direct the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to expand its quality initiatives to include adult immunization, and commit funding for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to assess CMS's efforts to identify best practices and reward quality; and to require CM to reach an agreement with the Joint Commission onward Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) forward making immunization of health care workers single of the criteria JCAHO considers when accrediting hospitals, nursing to one's homes home health agencies, and other facilities. Additional information is available online at http://wwwprevent org/projects_ai.cfm.

COPYRIGHT 2005 American Academy of Family Physicians

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