Adherence to rotavirus vaccination quality measures in a commercially insured population.

BACKGROUND

This retrospective study determined the level of compliance to rotavirus vaccination guidelines within a large, commercially insured US population, as well as compliance with PI, ACIP and HEDIS measures for rotavirus vaccination.

METHODS

Medical and pharmacy claims were obtained from the HealthCore Integrated Research Database. Enrolled children were stratified into PI, ACIP and HEDIS cohorts. The PI cohort was subdivided into RV5 and RV1 cohorts due to the differences in dosing schedules and patients with mixed dosing were excluded from the these two cohorts. Patients identified in the HEDIS cohort were linked to the administering physicians.

RESULTS

Of 162,614 patients in PI cohort, 27% did not receive rotavirus vaccinations, 24% (RV5) and 15% (RV1) had incomplete doses (p < 0.0001; RV1 vs. RV5). A total of 76% of patients completed RV5 series but not on schedule, 54% completed on schedule. A total of 85% of patients completed the RV1 series at any time, 69% completed on schedule. Among health plans, 53% of patients completed the series, 22% (RV5) and 15% (RV1) had incomplete doses (p < 0.0001). Of 2,086 physicians who treated ≥ 10 patients within the plan (regardless of vaccination status), 78% had > 50% of patients complete, 22% had > 90% of patients completed.

CONCLUSION

Despite both two effective rotavirus vaccines and national immunization recommendations, rotavirus vaccination remains underutilized for infants.