What Does Be Wise — Immunize Offer for Physicians?

With Be Wise, you can: 

1. Earn CME to be informed about vaccine-preventable diseases and learn strategies to urge patients to vaccinate.

2. Talk to Patients About … vaccine-preventable diseases and common vaccination myths.

3. Counter vaccine hesitancy and low vaccination rates with vaccine handouts and social media posts. 

4. Be a vaccination spokesperson in your office, in the media, or at public gatherings such as PTAs or civic organizations. 

5. Host a shot clinic or an educational outreach event, such as a town hall meeting.

6.  Fund an educational outreach event or a shot clinic. 

7. Understand health care worker vaccination requirements and promote vaccinations among your employees. 

8. Keep up with the latest vaccine news.

New CME! Talk to Your Patients About: Vaccine-Preventable Diseases 
As a physician, you understand how important vaccinations are in controlling preventable diseases. However, mistrust and misinformation have led to a growing movement against vaccines, driven in part, ironically, by how effective they’ve been in eradicating many infectious diseases. With no firsthand experience of these diseases, many adults do not understand the sometimes devastating consequences of not getting vaccinated. TMA’s new Talk to Your Patients About: Vaccine-Preventable Diseases CME (free to TMA members) is designed to help you understand the diseases childhood vaccines prevent to better communicate with patients. 

New CME! The Burden of HPV-Related Cancers and the Importance of Vaccine Recommendation
The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination prevents cancer, and you want your young patients to get it. This new CME from TMA provides the latest information about HPV vaccination to help you better answer parents’ questions: Why does my child need this vaccination? When is the best time to get it? And more. The Burden of HPV-Related Cancers and the Importance of Vaccine Recommendation (free for TMA members) explores the epidemiology of the HPV virus and incidence rates of HPV-related cancers, and explains why age 11 or 12 is the recommended time for vaccination. 

Local Impact Grants for Vaccination Events
Local Impact Grants of up to $2,500 are available to TMA member-physician practices/clinics, county medical societies, TMA Alliance chapters, and medical student chapters. Grants can fund shot clinics to vaccinate underserved and uninsured children, adolescents, and/or adults. And grants now can help fund vaccine education events, such as a town hall or PTA meeting. Grant proposals are due March 15 and July 1.

Patient Education Materials
Check out the Be Wise patient education materials for placement in your waiting and exam rooms. All materials are in English and Spanish (PDF):

• Adult Vaccinations Infographic
• Childhood Vaccinations Infographic  
• Child Care Worker Vaccinations Infographic
• Flu Infographic
• HPV Infographic (for adolescents)
• HPV Infographic (for college-age young adults)
• Meningococcal Disease Infographic  
• Whooping Cough Infographic
• Vaccinations for Adults Chart
• Talk to Your Patients About … Vaccine-Preventable Diseases (better understand the realities of these diseases to discuss with your patients)
• Talk to Your Patient About … Common Vaccination Concerns (better understand questions and concerns to discuss with your patients)

Banner series. Educate patients or the public with a new TMA banner series, “Stamping Out Disease: A Chronicle of Infectious Disease and Vaccination.” This museum-quality display, created by TMA’s History of Medicine Committee, highlights biomedical breakthroughs, including the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination development, and the recent growth of vaccine-hesitant populations. Email to reserve the banners or call (512) 370-1552. 

Letters to the Editor: Respond to articles in the news about vaccinations or use them to educate the public during key vaccination times (National Immunization Awareness Month in August or National Infant Immunization Week in April).

Be Wise – Immunize Survey
Two recent surveys show TMA members are eager for more ways to get involved in personal vaccination outreach, and TMA’s Be Wise – Immunize is answering the call. The program recently underwent a reevaluation, and TMA plans to expand program offerings in the coming months to help you support and promote vaccinations in your community. The survey report provides more details of the findings and proposed changes.

 Health Care Worker Vaccination 
TMA worked closely with the Texas Pediatric Society, and the Texas Nurses Association, and the Texas Hospital Association to support state legislation that requires health care facilities licensed by the Texas Department of State Health Services to have a vaccination policy. The policy must outline vaccination requirements for each employee or anyone who comes into contact with patients in their facility, including physicians, volunteers, or others who are not directly employed by a facility. TMA has tools to help you comply. 

TMA Encourages Flu Shots for Health Care Workers
Your vaccination policy will require health care workers to get immunized for the flu to protect their patients, themselves, and their families. Help spread the message by displaying this poster in hospital employee break rooms, physicians’ offices, and other places where health care workers and staff gather. To order, contact TMA’s outreach coordinator or call (512) 370-1470.

Additional Vaccination Resources  

ImmTrac
ImmTrac2 is a free, confidential immunization registry developed by the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) to maintain immunization records. ImmTrac consolidates immunization records from multiple sources and stores patient vaccination information electronically in one central, secure system. In addition, ImmTrac offers online access to patients’ vaccination history. 

Texas Vaccines for Children
Texas Vaccines for Children (TVFC) is Texas’ version of the federal Vaccines For Children Program. TVFC was initiated by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 that guaranteed vaccines would be available at no cost to physicians and other health care professionals to vaccinate children (birth-18 years of age) who meet the eligibility requirements. By enrolling in TVFC, physicians can provide vaccinations to patients as part of a comprehensive care package and enhance the opportunity for patients to find a medical home. 

Adult Safety Net Program
The Adult Safety Net (ASN) Program supplies vaccine at no cost to enrolled providers. By enrolling in ASN, physicians can provide vaccinations to patients as part of a comprehensive care package and enhance the opportunity for patients to have a medical home. DSHS created the ASN to increase access to vaccination services in Texas for uninsured adults. It provides most vaccinations recommended for adults.

Texas Vaccination Requirements
The Texas Minimum State Vaccine Requirements for Students K-12 outline vaccinations needed for school. Texas law allows for conscientious exemption from vaccinations. To claim an exemption, a student's parent or legal guardian must request, sign, and submit an official DSHS affidavit form to the child's school.   

Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System
The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) is a national vaccine safety surveillance program cosponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration. These agencies use the information VAERS collects and analyzes about vaccine-reportable events to ensure safe vaccine use and reduce the rare risk associated with some vaccines. 

Want to get involved with Be Wise — Immunize or need more information? Email TMA’s outreach coordinator or call (512) 370-1470. Or contact her to sign up for TMA Giving Back, a monthly e-newsletter that keeps you up to date on TMA’s outreach programs.

 Be Wise — Immunize main page