Utilization of a Pharmacy Technician to Improve Immunization Rates for Pediatric Heart and Kidney Transplant Recipients

ABSTRACT

Purpose: Transplant recipients are at increased risk of infectious complications from vaccine-preventable diseases. This study aimed to evaluate using a pharmacy technician to provide routine childhood immunizations during kidney transplant or heart transplant clinic to improve immunization rates. Method(s) Patients seen in our pediatric kidney or heart transplant clinics between August 2021 and November 2021 were included. Patient vaccine records were screened by the pharmacy technician, under transplant pharmacist supervision, prior to clinic visits to identify needed immunizations. Recommendations were based on the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and the American Society of Transplantation (AST) guidelines for vaccination of solid organ transplant candidates and recipients. The pharmacy technician contacted parents before clinic to discuss in clinic vaccination administration whenever possible. With verbal consent, the pharmacy technician submitted a vaccine prescription to the hospital's outpatient pharmacy, acquired the vaccine from the pharmacy, and administered the vaccine during clinic under the supervision of an immunization-certified pharmacist. All vaccines were entered into the Utah State Immunization Information System Registry. Result(s) Prior to initiation of this program, vaccines were rarely administered in clinic. During the 4-month study period, a total of 168 patients were screened (86 kidney transplant recipients, 82 heart transplant recipients), with 49 (29%) fully vaccinated. A total of 47 patients received vaccines during the study period (22 kidney transplant recipients, 25 heart transplant recipients) with 89 vaccine doses administered. The most frequently administered vaccines were SARS-CoV-2, influenza, and meningococcal (Table 1). No adverse events were recorded. Conclusion(s) Utilizing a pharmacy technician certified in immunization administration increased the number of vaccines administered to pediatric kidney and heart transplant recipients. Transplant programs who adopt a pharmacy technician immunization program in the clinic setting may benefit from close collaboration with an outpatient pharmacy.