As health systems, medical groups and federally qualified health centers ramp up their COVID-19 vaccination efforts, getting vaccines to those who want it and countering vaccine hesitancy among those with questions are top concerns.

Whether your organization is already vaccinating or still waiting for vaccines to arrive, the COVID-19 Vaccine Playbook is a useful guide to Phreesia’s product offerings and resources that can streamline distribution, gauge hesitancy, and provide targeted outreach and education.

Click the image below to download the Playbook.

An overview of Phreesia offerings and resources designed to help health systems and medical groups distribute the COVID-19 vaccine, assess vaccine hesitancy and provide targeted outreach and education.

What are you trying to accomplish right now?

• Promote your COVID-19 vaccination plans to existing patients and non-patients
• Manage vaccine eligibility, scheduling and intake
• Assess and address vaccine hesitancy

Promote your COVID-19 vaccination plans with existing patients and non-patients

Announce your vaccination plans to your current patients: Using Phreesia’s Practice Announcements, your organization can email all your established patients to inform them about your vaccine delivery plans, encouraging them to join your waitlist for priority group-based outreach and scheduling. Phreesia’s COVID-19 Practice Announcement templates can be customized to fit your needs.

Use your website to reach patients and non-patients: Your website can include a link to Phreesia’s Appointment Request form, which will allow anyone to express interest in receiving the vaccine from your organization. Requests will appear in the Phreesia Appointments Hub for prioritization, outreach and scheduling.

Provide targeted outreach to individuals in high-priority vaccination groups: Using Phreesia’s Health Campaigns application, you can reach current patients who are in high-priority groups and prompt them to schedule their vaccination appointment. You can also use Health Campaigns to contact any high-priority non-patients who have submitted an Appointment Request. Follow up on all appointment requests using Phreesia Patient Chat to coordinate scheduling via two-way text messaging. Once your community is ready to vaccinate later-priority groups, you can use Health Campaigns to let those groups know they are now eligible to receive the vaccine.

Manage vaccine eligibility, scheduling and intake

Collect patient data specific to priority groups to inform targeted outreach: For patients who request a vaccine appointment, Phreesia’s Appointment Request form allows them to self-designate as vaccine priority-group members. In addition, Phreesia’s vaccine hesitancy survey can collect patient data and provide population-level insights into each priority group’s main concerns and motivations.

Prioritize and schedule patients according to eligibility guidelines: As groups become eligible to receive the vaccine, you can sort your waitlist by vaccination group categories, and reach out to each group using two-way text messaging, targeted email outreach and phone calls.

Screen for vaccine contraindications before the appointment to minimize wasted doses: Phreesia’s COVID-19 Vaccination Screening Module is based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest Pre-Vaccination Checklist for COVID-19 Vaccines, allowing you to automate pre-screening for patients with contraindications before their visit and re-direct them appropriately.

Decrease no-shows using automated text and email appointment reminders: Once individuals are scheduled for vaccine appointments, they will automatically receive a text or email reminding them to complete their registration, eligibility screening and consent forms. You can customize this language to suit your organization’s needs. Phreesia will also digitize your consent forms and collect other important information needed for state vaccination registries.

Schedule second-dose appointments: Your organization can decide whether it wants to offer self-scheduling and/or provide in-person scheduling for patients to receive their second vaccine dose.

• If you offer self-scheduling, you can choose to have patients self-schedule their second vaccine dose during intake for their first vaccination, immediately after they receive their first vaccine dose, or through a follow-up email or text message that prompts them to self-schedule their second vaccine dose.
• If you provide in-person scheduling, Phreesia can integrate out-of-the-box educational messaging into check-in for patients’ first vaccination that emphasizes the importance of receiving both vaccine doses and reminds them to schedule their second vaccination during their first appointment.

Use text messages to communicate day-of instructions: Using Patient Chat two-way text messaging, your staff can remind patients about your hours and locations, prompt them to complete necessary pre-visit forms or update them on new-appointment availability.

Assess and address vaccine hesitancy

Gather insights into patients’ intentions to receive the COVID-19 vaccine and any concerns they may have about it: Phreesia has developed a survey in consultation with CONVINCE USA and The Vaccine Confidence Project to help you assess your patients’ intentions to get vaccinated and understand their concerns about the COVID-19 vaccine. Survey responses can help your providers have more meaningful conversations with patients and provide targeted education.

Gauge vaccine hesitancy when it makes sense for your workflows: With Phreesia’s Vaccine Management Solution, you can ask patients vaccine hesitancy questions during intake, between visits or both. No matter which option you choose, patients will see and answer the survey questions only once.

Review vaccine hesitancy data by individual or in aggregate: For individuals, responses will appear as a PDF in the patient’s chart so providers can initiate conversations and answer questions about vaccination uncertainty. Population-level data can give your organization a broader understanding of your patients’ intentions to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, including their motivations and concerns.

Continue engaging patients over time to assess changes in sentiments: Phreesia will continue to consult with experts to provide you with content to address vaccine hesitancy. Organizations that use the Phreesia vaccine-hesitancy survey will receive updates on best practices for addressing patient concerns.

Tips for mass-vaccination sites

• Streamline patient traffic using proof of registration, including printouts or screenshots of their appointment registration email, pre-visit thank-you screens or QR codes
• Set up mobile workflows for walk-ins and patients who did not complete pre-visit registration
• Use standalone Phreesia Arrivals Kiosks (indoors only) and QR codes to assist with check-in and wayfinding
• Use text messages to communicate day-of instructions