KEYWORDS:
Assessment, Feedback, Incentive and eXchange (AFIX), Clinic Assessment Software Application (CASA), Educating Physicians In their Communities-Immunization Education Program (EPIC-IEP), Pennsylvania (PA)

BACKGROUND:
The Pennsylvania Department of Health (PA DOH) and the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (PA AAP) collaborate as a public-private partnership on a statewide Educating Physicians In their Communities – Immunization Education Program (EPIC-IEP). Since 1997, locally-based presenter teams of a physician or nurse practitioner, practice manager, and public health immunization nurse have been providing in-office provider education to the entire practice staff in their region of the state.

OBJECTIVE(S):
Target practices with low immunization rates for educational intervention to improve immunization practices.

METHOD(S):
A joint effort by the Pennsylvania Vaccines For Children (VFC) Program and the EPIC-IEP was established in July 2000. The purpose of the VFC-AFIX Initiative is to assess practice immunization rates and give special attention to those practices performing at the lowest 10% for their 4:3:1:3 series CASA rate. The low-CASA practices are contacted initially via letter from IEP staff with a follow-up phone call from an IEP physician, to offer a full CASA, an IEP educational session, and other technical assistance. The low-CASA practices are also offered a repeat CASA one year later.

RESULT(S):
Ninety six low-CASA practices have been contacted to date and are included in an ongoing educational follow-up process. This process is continually being fine-tuned to maximize the practice commitment to improve their immunization rates.

CONCLUSIONS(S):
Efforts to help practices with low immunization rates identified through VFC/AFIX as well as quality improvement programs will continue to be developed, implemented and evaluated.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
To understand the implementation and effectiveness of AFIX in the provider community by a public-private partnership.