Alyssa Wozniak

This project represents how community and academic pharmacy partnerships can close long-standing gaps in adult immunization. By creating a rapid vaccine screening & decision-support tool for use in community pharmacy settings, we’re making it easier to identify and address missed vaccination opportunities during routine patient encounters and outreach initiatives such as home immunization or immunization clinics. Our goal is to expand access, improve public health outcomes, and demonstrate how pharmacists are essential providers of preventive care.

Traditional immunization decision-support tools within pharmacy systems or state-run Immunization Information Systems may not fully close vaccination gaps because they rely on data such as on existing diagnosis codes and active patient records. These systems often miss opportunities when caring for new patients or those served through home visits, outreach clinics, or mobile vaccination programs. This project was developed to fill that gap by creating a rapid screening and decision-support tool that enables community pharmacists to quickly identify and close adult immunization gaps in any care setting.

I’m most excited about the opportunity to pilot a practical, scalable tool that can immediately improve patient outcomes and expand pharmacist-led immunization efforts. Collaborating with my pharmacy resident, Dr. Manroop Mahal, makes this especially rewarding as we work together to advance innovative, community-based approaches to public health. Receiving this Incentive Grant allows us to demonstrate how solutions developed in community pharmacy settings can strengthen the broader public health infrastructure and serve as a model for others nationwide.