Assessing immunization coverage in private practice

To achieve national health objectives of eliminating most childhood vaccine -preventable diseases by the year 2010, all health care providers will have to improve the immunization rates of their patients. Currently, immunizati on rates of children 19 to 35 months of age are less than national objectiv es, suggesting a need for optimized immunization services. A key strategy f or improving age-appropriate immunization coverage by health care providers is the assessment of immunization coverage. Because most (62%) immunizatio n services in the United States are delivered in the private sector, a conc erted effort in private practice is critical to improving immunization rate s. Assessment of immunization coverage of patients enrolled in private prac tice serves 1) to measure the overall performance of the practice in provid ing the standard of care, 2) to identify strategies for improving coverage, and 3) to document the quality of health services delivered (report card). Assessment of immunization coverage has been demonstrated in several pract ice settings to be highly effective in improving immunization rates. All ty pes of physicians should benefit from assessing immunization coverage of th eir patients. Simple assessment tools ore available at no cost to the publi c and can be obtained by contacting the Centers for Disease Control and Pre vention. These tools include a manual self-assessment or a computerized sof tware package (CASA) to fit the needs of the practice.