EHR Alert Increases Uptake of HPV Vaccine, Researchers Find

A clinical decision support alert can significantly increase the rate of patients that are vaccinated for human papillomavirus (HPV), according to a recent research study.

Researchers from the University of Michigan Medical School looked at 15,000 patients who either had prompts or didn’t have prompts set up in their electronic health record (EHR). They found that patients with the prompts were much more likely to complete the vaccine in a timely manner. Patients aged 9-18 who had the prompt were three times more likely to start the vaccine and 10 times more likely to complete it. Patients aged 19-26 were six times more likely to start the vaccine and eight times more likely to complete the series.

“We found that simply alerting patients and providers during an office appointment increased uptake and completion of the HPV vaccine series. Our findings suggest that these prompts through the electronic health system may be a valuable tool in encouraging more people to protect themselves from cancer,” stated Mack Ruffin IV, M.D., professor of family medicine at the U-M Medical School, researcher at the Comprehensive Cancer Center and member of the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation.

The findings appear in a recent issue of the Journal of American Board of Family Medicine.