One great thing about my position at APhA is that I get to see a lot of things early in their development cycle. Earlier this week, I was introduced to a program that combines advanced telecommunications technology with the latest research in human behavior and is called A Million More.

According to the CEO of Prescribe Wellness, the company behind the flu shot campaign, their turn-key program is using Facebook, broadcast TV, celebrity endorsements, public relations, in-store point of purchase, and most important, information in pharmacies’ dispensing systems to reach out to and persuade a million more consumers to visit a community pharmacy and get a flu shot. The CEO points out that this is all done simply, inexpensively, and in a HIPAA-compliant manner.

The essence of the Prescribe Wellness program is to develop a list of the patients who are most likely to respond to a carefully worded message that’s recorded in the voice of the pharmacy owner or manager and delivered to the right person at the right time. It is not my intent to endorse this innovative program, but to point out that each pharmacy with a pharmacy management system has tremendous data in house that can be used to promote adherence, wellness, and all-around good connectivity with the pharmacy. There are many ways to promote vaccines this time of year, and we’re involved in many of them. If you are looking for tools to help improve the number of people you immunize this flu season, you may want to check out the A Million More website.

APhA is the leading advocate for pharmacist-delivered immunizations, and anything you can do to build your immunization practice helps promote pharmacists’ role in public health and as providers of services, in addition to our ability to deliver the right medicines to the right patients. When pharmacists get involved, costs go down, and quality goes up!