Evaluating a Novel Hospital-Integrated Vaccination Pathway: Enhancing Coverage among Frail Patients

Abstract Background The 2022-2025 Italian Plan for vaccine prevention (PNPV), recognizes vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs) as significant contributors to mortality, morbidity, and healthcare expenditure. While the digitalization of the national vaccine registry is underway, initiatives aimed at enhancing digital integration between hospitals and territories are limited. There is still a gap in the development of automated systems for identifying patients who could benefit from vaccinations. The “Caring for frail patients through vaccination” (CareVax) Project aims to eliminate these gaps by providing new digital tools and integrated systems. Methods 1500 patients will be recruited at teaching hospital “A. Gemelli” over four years. With the assistance of an automated algorithm, electronic hospital and vaccination records will be utilised to assess eligibility for vaccinations against SARS-CoV-2, H. Zoster, Influenza, S.Pneumoniae and HBV. Eligible patients will be invited to schedule a vaccination appointment and will be asked to fill a questionnaire evaluating patient-reported experience measures (PREMs). The outcomes of interest include assessing the feasibility of the pathway, measuring patients’ satisfaction and concerns, and evaluating its impact on vaccination coverage. Results It is expected that frail patients’ vaccine coverage will improve, being offered an expedited booking process to get the vaccines either in the ambulatories of the Local Health Authority or in Hospital. The algorithm has already been successfully validated on a sample of anonymized patients. The results of the study will provide evidence on novel, hospital-integrating, vaccination pathways. Conclusions The results obtained from the intervention will help reduce VDPs and facilitate identification of the frail patients, ensuring easy access to vaccination and increasing vaccination coverage. Key messages • Carevax will test their feasibility in an Italian teaching hospital, leveraging digital technologies to reduce the burden of VPDs novel approaches. • Hospital-Territory integrated vaccination pathways represent a novel digital approach to reduce the burden of VPDs.