BACKGROUND:
The Ohio Chapter - American Academy of Pediatrics (Ohio AAP) operates the provider education program, Maximizing Office Based Immunization (MOBI). Over 400 office presentations were conducted in 2004 in pediatrician and family physician practices in Ohio.

OBJECTIVE:
1) Identify features of a successful cost-efficient provider education program. 2) Discuss challenges to quality improvement in provider offices. 3) Describe community-based strategies to raise childhood immunization rates by involving private providers in a local immunization action plan.

METHOD:
The Ohio AAP, collaborating with the Ohio Department of Health Immunization Program and a network of one hundred local public health immunization nurses, operates the MOBI provider education program. This program educates pediatrician and family physician private offices on the strategies to increase on-time immunization of infants and children in their practice. A valuable relationship between the AAP and public health at the state level has translated to public-private partnerships locally among public health immunization nurses and private physician practices. Incentives were aligned using immunization action plan grants and MOBI was encouraged to be used in the “feedback” portion of AFIX.

RESULT:
More than 400 presentations occurred in primary care practices in 2004. Many also had a CASA/AFIX evaluation. After a presentation, office staff and providers are motivated to change. However, actual office system improvements are modest. Data will be presented comparing what practices would like to do and what actually changes one month later.

CONCLUSION:
Community-wide strategies to raise immunization rates must focus on MAXIMIZING rates in private practices and clinics using cost-efficient sustainable methods in order to MINIMIZE more expensive community outreach efforts. A template for a community-wide immunization action plan emphasizing collaboration with private providers, incorporating an immunization registry, and an effective, sustained local immunization coalition will be presented.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
Effectively administer a provider education program as part of a local immunization action plan.