Utilization of Immunization Information Systems (IIS) among independently owned community pharmacies: A national survey

Background/Objective: Immunization information systems (IIS) consolidate provider-submitted immunization information. We reassessed independently owned community pharmacies' IIS enrollment, verification of immunizations needs via IIS records retrieval, and immunization records reporting to IISs following post-pandemic shifts in community pharmacy operations. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey of National Community Pharmacists Association pharmacist, pharmacy owner, and pharmacy technician members was conducted in Fall 2022. Results: 202 complete responses were analyzed. Margin of error was an estimated 7 %. Respondents were: 53.2 % female, similar to 87 % White, 69.8 % managers, and 86.1 % practicing in standalone community pharmacies. Almost all (91.6 %) were enrolled in IIS. About two-thirds frequently or always utilized IIS to retrieve immunization records prior to immunization. On average, 81.2 % of influenza and 83.5 % of non-COVID/non-influenza vaccination records were submitted. Conclusions: Enrollment rates are high among studied pharmacies, as are records reporting rates. However, re-cords retrieval rates are suboptimal. Future work should focus on addressing suboptimal retrieval rates within immunization-providing pharmacies.