(139) Developing a COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution and Tracking System for The Veterans Health Administration

Sunday, August 28, 2022

8:00 AM – 1:45 PM CEST

Location: Hall C

Publication Number: 1184

Presenting Author(s)

Anthony Au, PharmD
– Hines, Illinois, United States

Co-Author(s)

Ashir Shumunov
– Department of Veterans Affairs, Hines, Illinois, United States
Jennifer Martin, PharmD, BCPP
– Deputy Chief Consultant, PBM, VA PBM / VA Center for Medication Safety, Plainfield, IL, United States
Francesca Cunningham, Pharm.D.
– Director, Center for Medication Safety, Department of Veterans Affairs, Hines, GA, United States

Background: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Pharmacy Benefits Management (PBM) office was tasked with centrally distributing and tracking all doses of COVID-19 vaccine across the system.

Objectives: The main objective was to distribute COVID-19 vaccine doses efficiently and equitably to all sites that need it while staying compliant with Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and VA Central Office (VACO) reporting requirements.

Methods: Available software such as Microsoft InfoPath and PowerApps were used as a front-end tool for facilities to register, receive, and track vaccine. Developed tools were used to collect the necessary information that was requested by the CDC to register facilities and contacts, request new vaccine orders, and track both waste and daily on-hand inventory. Cloud services such as Microsoft PowerAutomate were used to automate workflow management of newly submitted data along with email confirmation and permission controls. Microsoft PowerShell scripts were then developed to efficiently move data to a Structured Language Query (SQL) and translate the information into an export file per the CDC specification requirements. These data were also analyzed to identify discrepancies and ensure data are accurately entered. Summary of these data as well as quality assurance data have been made available to VA staff by utilizing a national PowerBI report.

Results: From 12/16/2020 – 2/23/2022, 532 facilities (VA medical centers and several CBOCs) have reported storing doses on hand and added 3,370 contacts. Facilities have reported inventory for 434 days for all three vaccines available when there was inventory at the facility. In total, 7,776,020 full doses of vaccine have been ordered and distributed across the VA, of which 133,698 remain as of 2/23/2022.

Conclusions: VA developed a system to allow for efficient distribution and tracking of COVID-19 vaccine to over 500 locations across a national healthcare system using available technology.