Evidence is mounting that pharmacists can play a key role in making sure the two-dose recombinant zoster vaccine (RZV) series is completed. How cost-effective that is, however, is not as clear. It all comes down to time commitment, according to the authors. Here is more information.

A report in the Journal of the American Pharmacists Association discusses the results of a recently published study to determine whether a pharmacist-driven pilot program within a human immunodeficiency virus/infectious diseases clinic setting increased the completion of the two-dose RZV series versus standard care.

In a retrospective cohort study, Virginia Commonwealth University Health–led researchers enrolled 35 patients in a pharmacist-driven RZV administration pilot program (intervention arm) and compared them with 84 others in provider-directed RZV education (standard care) to assess completion of the two-dose vaccine series.

Results indicate an increased completion of the two-dose vaccine series in the intervention cohort compared with the standard care cohort (ITT 66% and mITT 100% vs. 23%; P <.001).

“The pharmacist-driven RZV administration program resulted in increased completion of the 2-dose series. However, the revenue generated did not justify the cost of a pharmacist salary for the allocated time commitment,” the authors write.

A study in the fall in the same journal—this time involving Walgreens researchers—analyzed the effect of a pharmacist phone call on patient’s completion of the two-dose shingles vaccine series. It also looked at how much patient cost mattered.

The retrospective cohort study design evaluated whether patients who had a pharmacist phone call intervention were more likely to return for their second RZV dose than patients who did not have a pharmacist phone call intervention. In addition, the impact of immunization cost on series completion was analyzed.

The study evaluated the Shingrix call lists from 10 randomly selected pharmacies within a large pharmacy chain. They then compared the percentage of patients who received the call intervention and those who returned for their second dose.

Researchers report that the relationship between pharmacists’ phone calls and patients’ return for the second dose vaccination was statistically significant (P <.05). On the other hand, based on payment data, the relationship between the cost of the first dose to the patient and the second-dose vaccination was not statistically significant (OR, 0.6703; 95% CI, 0.4153-1.082), they write.

“A higher percentage of patients received their second RZV dose if they spoke with a pharmacist,” according to the authors. “Based on the results of this study, a pharmacist’s intervention may affect completion rates of the RZV series more than cost.”
 
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