APhA Policy Manual

1. APhA encourages pharmacy personnel to take an active role in achieving the goals of the Healthy People program regarding immunizations through (a) advocacy; (b) contracting with other health care professionals; or (c) administering vaccines to patients facing barriers to health.
2. APhA encourages the availability of all vaccines to all pharmacies in order to meet public health needs.
3. APhA supports the compensation of pharmacy personnel for the administration of immunizations and the reimbursement for vaccine distribution.
4. APhA should facilitate the development of programs that educate pharmacy personnel about their role in immunizations in public health.

1. APhA supports efforts to increase immunization rates of health care professionals, for the purposes of protecting patients and urges all pharmacy personnel to receive all recommended immunizations.
2. APhA encourages employers to provide necessary immunizations to all pharmacy personnel.
3. APhA encourages federal, state, and local officials and agencies to recognize pharmacists, student pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and pharmacy support staff as among the highest priority groups to receive medications, vaccinations, and other protective measures as essential health care workers.

1. APhA supports universal and consistent school-entry immunization requirements grounded in the best available evidence-based guidelines to protect the public’s health against vaccine-preventable disease.
2. APhA supports exemptions from school-entry immunization requirements only when an evidence-based medical contraindication exists.

1. APhA supports pharmacists practicing under a standard of care regulatory model for providing immunization services.
2. APhA advocates for the sustained, equitable, and reliable availability of immunizations as a public health priority.
3. APhA supports the development, implementation, and expansion of pharmacy-led public education initiatives that highlight the proven role of immunizations in preventing disease, saving lives, reducing health disparities, and strengthening community resilience.
4. APhA champions full compensation by public and private insurers for pharmacy-provided immunization services, including the cost of the vaccine products and administration.
5. APhA supports expanding the authority of pharmacists, student pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians to increase immunization capacity nationwide.
6. APhA supports the use of best existing evidence-based guidelines for immunization schedules.

1. APhA supports pharmacists being recognized as independent health care providers with regard to recommending and administering vaccines based on shared clinical decision making (SCDM).
2. APhA advocates for compensation for shared clinical decision making (SCDM) consultations in addition to vaccine administration fees to increase patient access to SCDM vaccines.

APhA supports vaccinations, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as a condition of employment, training, or volunteering within an organization that provides pharmacy services or operates a pharmacy or pharmacy department (unless a valid medical or religious reason precludes vaccination).

1. APhA supports mandatory requirements for ALL immunization providers to report pertinent immunization data into Immunization Information Systems (IIS).
2. APhA calls for government entities to fund enrollment and engagement of all immunization providers in Immunization Information Systems (IIS). This engagement should support lifetime tracking of immunizations for patients.
3. APhA calls for a National Immunization Information System (IIS) to receive and report vaccination data from all registries for the purpose of providing health care professionals, patients, and their caregivers with accurate and timely information to assist in clinical decision-making.
4. APhA advocates that all appropriate health care personnel involved in the patient care process have timely access to Immunization Information Systems (IIS) and other pertinent data sources to support proactive patient assessment and delivery of immunization services while maintaining confidentiality.
5. APhA urges pharmacy management system vendors to include functionality that uses established and adopted electronic health record standards for the bidirectional exchange of data with Immunization Information Systems (IIS).

1. APhA supports the development of standardized training in immunization administration and continuing education opportunities for immunizing pharmacy technicians.
2. APhA supports immunizing pharmacist’s individual discretion in delegating immunization administration to pharmacy technicians with the requisite education, training, and experience.
3. APhA supports voluntary participation by pharmacy technicians in the training and provision of immunization administration.
4. APhA supports the role of immunizing pharmacists as the healthcare professional providing clinical patient assessment, decision making, and patient counseling when delegating immunization administration to a pharmacy technician.

(Note: Guidelines approved by the APhA Board of Trustees in May, 1997; noted in Appendix.) APhA should adopt and disseminate standards for immunization advocacy and delivery by pharmacists.

1. APhA encourages the continued availability of vaccines to meet public health needs.
2. APhA supports the development of programs that educate the public about the role of immunizations in public health.
3. APhA supports the reimbursement by public and private third-party payers for immunizations.