RESUMO
Societal and economic burdens of hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) continue to grow. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends a one-time HCV screen for individuals in the Baby Boomer population (those born between 1945 and 1965) and a one-time HIV screen for all individuals between ages 13-64 years regardless of risk factors, with more frequent screening for both conditions based on individual risk factors. This study took place at Atrium Health, a healthcare system with approximately 12 million patient encounters per year. The aims of this study were to assess the impact of the HCV and HIV electronic medical record (EMR) alerts recently implemented on screening rates and linkage to care. Data were collected from 12 primary care practices. Implementation of EMR alerts increased HCV and HIV screening from 1,934 of 59,632 (3.2%) to 13,726 of 60,422 (22.7%) and 6,950 of 112,813 (6.2%) to 12,379 of 109,173 (11.3%) respectively. The HCV screening resulted in an increase of patients with antibody positive results having a subsequent RNA test from 68% (122/179) to 98% (430/442). 74 of 81 (91%) of HCV and 15 of 15 (100%) of HIV positive patients were linked into care. The addition of an EMR alert was associated with improved screening for HCV and HIV in primary care practices. Screening all patients decreases testing stigma since there is a lowered risk of disease transmission for those who test positive. However, post-intervention screening rates indicate further opportunities exist for additional interventions to increase screening rates.
RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: Adolescent human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine rates remain low. Early vaccination may improve the efficacy of the vaccine and immunization rates; however, clinicians have not routinely made a strong recommendation for younger adolescents. This study assessed the feasibility of routine vaccination at 9 years of age. METHODS: Three sequential quality improvement (QI) interventions were implemented to shift the initiation of the HPV vaccine to 9 years of age in a primary care network in low-income neighborhoods in Columbus, Ohio. The first intervention changed the electronic medical record alert for the HPV vaccine from 11 to 9 years of age and focused on cancer prevention when discussing the vaccine with families. The second intervention was formation of an HPV QI team. The third intervention was a clinic incentive for HPV captured opportunity rates. Immunization rates were monitored using statistical process control charts to compare the HPV immunization rate in a sample of 9- and 10-year-old children with a sample of 11- and 12-year-old children. RESULTS: The percentage of patients receiving an HPV vaccine before 11 years increased from 4.6% to 35.7% during the 6 months after the QI initiative began and to 60.8% 18 months after the project began. In comparison, the HPV vaccination rate in the sample of 11- and 12-year-olds increased from 78.7% to 82.8% 18 months later. CONCLUSIONS: This QI project used multiple interventions to increase HPV vaccination at 9 years of age in a large primary care network serving a diverse low-income population.