Impact of Information Technology Enhancement for Human Papillomavirus Vaccination: Time and Cost Savings
Author(s)
Tong Han Chung, MPH, PhD1, Hannah Reygaerts, MPH, PhD1, Linh K. Nguyen, PhD1, Kathleen Hanley, DrPH1, Isaac Mancillas, BBA1, Sandra Stansberry, MPH1, Todd R. Johnson, PhD2, Yen-Chi Le, PhD1;
1McGovern Medical School, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston at Houston, Department of Healthcare Transformation Initiatives, Houston, TX, USA, 2D. Bradley McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA
1McGovern Medical School, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston at Houston, Department of Healthcare Transformation Initiatives, Houston, TX, USA, 2D. Bradley McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA
Presentation Documents
OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the impact of Electronic Health Record (EHR) enhancements on time and cost savings related to Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination clinical workflows.
METHODS: We conducted a pre- and post-comparison study of EHR enhancements in outpatient clinics. EHR enhancements included electronic ImmTrac Consent, external data validation, immunization forecaster, and automatic patient reminders. We created process maps of routine clinical activities for vaccination, including HPV, at five clinics. Clinical staff time and related costs were compared before and after the EHR enhancements during a normal clinical process for vaccination. Staff time was estimated using the time-driven activity-based costing method. Direct clinical costs were calculated from a payer perspective. The average and range of time savings and cost savings were estimated among five clinics. All costs were adjusted to 2024 US dollars.
RESULTS: The normal process included six vaccine-related clinical steps: (1) Pre-visit, (2) Check-in, (3) Rooming, vaccination records review and documentation, (4) Vaccine Education and recommendation, (5) Vaccine administration, and (6) Check-out. The average staff time spent per patient was reduced by 19 minutes with EHR enhancements. Across five clinics, staff time reduction ranged from 0.7 minutes to 59 minutes per patient. The average cost savings for clinics with EHR enhancements was $20.46 per patient, ranging from $3.14 to $46.44.
CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that EHR enhancements can improve clinical workflows and save staff time and cost during clinical vaccination activities. Additional economic evaluation studies at the health system level will be necessary to evaluate the practical impact of EHR enhancement on effectiveness and efficiency.
METHODS: We conducted a pre- and post-comparison study of EHR enhancements in outpatient clinics. EHR enhancements included electronic ImmTrac Consent, external data validation, immunization forecaster, and automatic patient reminders. We created process maps of routine clinical activities for vaccination, including HPV, at five clinics. Clinical staff time and related costs were compared before and after the EHR enhancements during a normal clinical process for vaccination. Staff time was estimated using the time-driven activity-based costing method. Direct clinical costs were calculated from a payer perspective. The average and range of time savings and cost savings were estimated among five clinics. All costs were adjusted to 2024 US dollars.
RESULTS: The normal process included six vaccine-related clinical steps: (1) Pre-visit, (2) Check-in, (3) Rooming, vaccination records review and documentation, (4) Vaccine Education and recommendation, (5) Vaccine administration, and (6) Check-out. The average staff time spent per patient was reduced by 19 minutes with EHR enhancements. Across five clinics, staff time reduction ranged from 0.7 minutes to 59 minutes per patient. The average cost savings for clinics with EHR enhancements was $20.46 per patient, ranging from $3.14 to $46.44.
CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that EHR enhancements can improve clinical workflows and save staff time and cost during clinical vaccination activities. Additional economic evaluation studies at the health system level will be necessary to evaluate the practical impact of EHR enhancement on effectiveness and efficiency.
Conference/Value in Health Info
2025-05, ISPOR 2025, Montréal, Quebec, CA
Value in Health, Volume 28, Issue S1
Code
EE518
Topic
Economic Evaluation
Topic Subcategory
Cost/Cost of Illness/Resource Use Studies
Disease
STA: Vaccines