The Center for Medicare and Medicai...

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) the federal agency responsible for the Medicare and Medicaid programs, has changed its regulations allowing appropriate nonphysician personnel to provide influenza and pneumococcal vaccines without an individualized physician order. The regulation changes are available online at wwwcmsgov/ providerupdate/regsum.asp#3160FC.

Where allowed at state law, the regulation change can help health care professionals deliver timely vaccinations, increase adult vaccination coverage rates, and decrease illness and mortality from influenza and pneumonia.

CM changed its regulations to further facilitate safe and effective vaccine delivery and to remodel the administration burden on health care facilities and physicians. The regularity change is expected to increase immunization rates of older Americans and to convert into high morbidity and mortality rates because of proceedings of influenza and pneumonia. The change affects about 127 million the public now admitted to hospitals and 15 million in long-term care facilities. Last year, 4 million persons in home health care received influenza vaccinations. Ninety percent of the 20000 to 40000 deaths related to influenza and pneumonia occurr among someones aged 65 or older, making it the fifth leading cause of death in this age group

Preventive vaccines are a guarded benefit of the Medicare program, on the other hand immunization rates are low. According to a telephone view by the Centers for Disease direction and Prevention, only 67.4 percent of parts in this age group received an influenza shooter during the year of the contemplate and only 54.9 had through all ages received a pneumonia shot.

The recently made known rule makes it possible for more hospital, family circle health, and nursing home patients to receive their influenza and pneumonia vaccinations when a standing order program is in place, relieving the freight from physicians so that they do not have to sign for each individual patient.

COPYRIGHT 2003 American Academy of Family Physicians

COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group