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May 17, 2002

U.S. IMMUNIZATION NEWS

"A Booster Shot for Returns"

American Medical News (www.amednews.com) (05/13/02) Vol. 45, No. 18, P. 32; Landers, Susan J.

A report published two years ago in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) showed an examination of over 40 studies that had revealed that reminder letters and calls to patients had led to an increase in vaccination rates of between 5 percent and 20 percent.  These increases were seen in rates for both adult tetanus of pneumococcus vaccinations, as well as for childhood vaccinations.  The researchers found that all kinds of reminders were effective, including autodialers, telephone calls, letters, and postcards, although they did find that contacting patients by telephone tended to be the most expensive form of contact.  At the same time, however, the researchers also found that many doctors and health care professionals did not actually use such methods to alert their patients about vaccinations they might require.

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