Tips for Hosting a Flu Clinic in

Your Physician’s Office

Purpose

To promote vaccine coverage in your community and facilitate efficient and safe delivery of available vaccines, these guidelines have been developed to assist with planning, promoting and hosting a flu clinic in the physician office setting.

Staffing

Designate roles and responsibilities to all staff involved in your flu clinic - a clinic leader for overall flu clinic operations, a co-leader for support functions, nurses or anyone eligible to administer vaccines, and front staff to screen patients and collect payment.

Make sure your flu clinic is appropriately staffed and have a nurse or two on call for potentially busier times during the clinic.

Promotion

Set a date early for the flu clinic to take place and start advertising, approximately 2-3 weeks before the clinic. Promotion of the flu clinic should reach both existing patients and others in your community.

Promote your flu clinic via local partners (school districts, chamber of commerce, your local Health Department, nearby stores, newspapers, flyers) and social media (Facebook, Twitter, clinic website). See the attached easy-to-localize promotional materials.

Promote the benefits of a flu clinic: easy way to get your flu vaccine, no appointment necessary, you don’t need to be a patient of the office, and that the office accepts various insurances and cash payment

Consider obtaining patient recommendations on effective advertising strategies to strengthen flu clinic attendance.

Workflow

While waiting, have patients fill out the screening checklist before being seen by the nurse. This allows the nurse an opportunity to briefly review contraindications and eliminate time spent on competing documentation during the patient’s visit.

IAC Screening Checklist for Adults

For community members who are not patients within your office, have them fill out insurance or other payment information.

Provide all clients with an up-to-date vaccine information statement (VIS):

VIS for influenza, inactivated or recombinant

VIS for influenza, live intranasal

Make sure you document patient immunizations administered in the state Immunization Information System (IIS).

In Michigan, the state IIS is MCIR

In case of adverse events, make sure there is a designated area for management of patients who experience any urgent medical problems.

Inventory

To ensure there are enough vaccines available for administration during the clinic:

Look at your previous order counts

Set a projected number of vaccines for the current year

Add the amount of anticipated number of people attending your flu clinic

Order that number of vaccines

Vaccine Storage, Handling and Administration

Ensure staff administering vaccines are knowledgeable in proper vaccine storage, handing and administration.

Vaccine storage and handling guidelines can be found here

General vaccine administration best practices

Additional Resources

Checklist of Best Practices for Vaccination Clinics Held at Satellite, Temporary, or Off-site Locations: https://www.izsummitpartners.org/content/uploads/2019/02/off-site-vaccination-clinic-checklist.pdf

Frequently Asked Flu Questions for the 2019-2020 Season: https://www.cdc.gov/flu/season/faq-flu-season-2019-2020.htm

Information for Health Care Providers: https://www.cdc.gov/flu/season/health-care-professionals.htm

Immunization Action Coalition resources - Influenza handouts, Vaccine Information Statements,

Q & A, Standing Order Templates and more: https://www.immunize.org/influenza/