HARTFORD, Conn., Dec. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Adults and children who receive
vaccinations at more than 5,300 primary care physicians' (PCP's) offices
nationwide may be more likely to receive an effective dose, following a major
quality management and patient safety initiative by Aetna.  Details of the
pilot program that led to this national initiative were published in the
November edition of the "American Journal of Preventive Medicine."
    To reduce risks associated with improper vaccine storage, Aetna recently
completed its Vaccine Safe Storage Project.  The project aimed to improve
compliance with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) vaccine storage
guidelines and included an initial survey of storage procedures, education
materials provided by Aetna, tools to support safe vaccine storage, and a
follow-up survey.  The project was funded by GlaxoSmithKline.
    "The success of immunization programs depends both on the number of people
who are vaccinated, and an effective vaccine," said Samuel Warburton, M.D.,
who leads Aetna's Quality Management programs.  "People should be able to rely
on the quality and the efficacy of vaccines to keep them safe from some very
serious illnesses.  We believe in the importance of this Vaccine Safe Storage
project, as well as other patient safety initiatives, and will continue to
support and collaborate with physicians and other health care providers in our
networks to minimize avoidable medical errors."
    According to the World Health Organization, most live vaccines can survive
at room temperature for only short periods of time.  Failure to adhere to
handling and storage recommendations can reduce or destroy a vaccine's
effectiveness, according to articles published in the "British Medical
Journal" and "Pediatrics."
    "GlaxoSmithKline was pleased to be able to support this initiative since
this study dovetails with our own internal efforts to continuously look for
new and innovative ways to improve the delivery and efficacy of immunizations
given to all infants and children," said Dr. Stuart Sarshik, Medical Director,
National Accounts, GlaxoSmithKline.
    Following the Vaccine Safe Storage Project, improvement in physician
compliance with the CDC's safe storage guidelines ranged from two to
20 percent.  For example:
    * There was a 10 percent improvement in the PCP office having a
      thermometer in the refrigerator to assess and record the temperatures.
    * Vaccines stored in the refrigerator door (where temperatures frequently
      are less stable) decreased by 13 percent, and vaccines stored in the
      freezer door decreased by two percent.
    * The use of a temperature log to record and track temperatures daily as
      recommended by the CDC increased by 18 percent.
    * Temperatures consistently within recommended ranges improved 18 percent
      for refrigerators and 13 percent in freezers.

    "This improvement is significant because although individual state health
departments are responsible for monitoring the quality of vaccine storage
within public health clinics, no monitoring system exists in the private
sector despite the fact that the private physician office is a major
distribution channel for vaccines," Warburton said.
    Aetna's national Safe Vaccine Storage Project followed a pilot program in
early 2001 which focused on four markets - Detroit, MI; Jacksonville, FL;
Phoenix, AZ; and Las Vegas, NV.  Details of the pilot, as well as the
significance of the results and interventions, were documented by Julie A.
Gazmararian, PhD, of Emory University.  Gazmararian led the pilot study for
the former USQA Health Care Research Center, and authored the manuscript that
appeared in November in the "American Journal of Preventive Medicine."
    "This study is an excellent example of how a national managed care
organization can effectively address an important patient safety issue.  Using
an existing system, Aetna was able to provide important information to the
provider offices that made a difference in how vaccines were stored,"
Gazmararian said.

    About Aetna
    Aetna (NYSE: AET) is one of the nation's leading providers of health care
and related group benefits, serving approximately 13.9 million medical
members, 11.9 million dental members and 11.7 million group insurance
customers, as of September 30, 2002.  The company has expansive nationwide
networks of more than 539,000 health care services providers, including over
327,000 primary care and specialist physicians and 3,300 hospitals.  For more
information about Aetna, please visit the company's web site at http://www.aetna.com.

    About GlaxoSmithKline
    GlaxoSmithKline, one of the world's leading research-based pharmaceutical
and health care companies, is committed to improving the quality of human
life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer.

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