Effect of a Computerized Alert on Emergency Department Hepatitis A Vaccination in Homeless Patients During a Large Regional Outbreak

Abstract

BackgroundWhile the overall incidence of hepatitis A has declined markedly since the introduction of a vaccine, sporadic cases and outbreaks of the disease continue to occur. ObjectiveOur aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of an electronic health record (EHR) provider alert as part of an outbreak-control vaccination program implemented in the emergency department (ED). MethodsWe conducted a retrospective study assessing the impact of a Best Practice Alert (BPA) built into an EHR to prompt providers when a patient was homeless to consider hepatitis A vaccination in the ED. Data were collected over three 6-month time periods: a historical control period, a pre-intervention period, and an intervention period. ResultsThere were no vaccinations given in the ED in the historical period, which increased to 465 after the implementation of the BPA. During the implementation period, there were 1,482 visits identified among 1,131 patients that met the inclusion criteria. Of these, there were 1,147 (77.5%) visits where the patient either received the vaccine in the ED, had already received the vaccine, or it was not indicated due to the current medical issue. There were also 333 (22.5%) visits where the BPA was active for potential vaccination eligibility, but did not receive it in the ED. ConclusionsWe leveraged an informatics tool developed within our EHR to identify high-risk patients and remind providers of the availability of vaccination in the ED. Using these tools enabled providers to increase vaccination efforts within our ED to help control the community-wide outbreak.