Validity of immunization documentation presented to a student health program.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Unavoidable exposure to disease and to patients susceptible and vulnerable to disease warrants that students entering medical school be immunized against many of the illnesses for which vaccines are available. The validity of immunization records presented at the time of registration, however, is largely dependent on the provision of accurate and reliable documentation by the student. METHODS: We evaluated for authenticity the immunization and tuberculin testing records of 85 students entering medical school in 1990. Five levels of valid documentation were defined, and the information on each record was reviewed accordingly. RESULTS: Only 43% of the records were original documents or laboratory reports of antibody titers, and 7.5% were not date-specific. We found that 8% to 20% of the forms were missing physician and/or student signatures, and 12% to 19% of the forms did not have health care provider addresses. CONCLUSIONS: Even though medical student preventive health programs may have strict requirements, there may be substantial deficiencies in the quality of the documentation provided by the students. Such deficiencies undermine the purpose of these programs.