It is as important as ever to help keep children in your practice up-to-date on their immunizations. Below are  scripts  you can use to draft messages for families to remind or recall them to complete a started vaccination series, and during the fall/winter respiratory infection season. Downloadable, customizable reminder and recall resources are also available from the AAP.  

Pediatricians can use immunization reminder and recall systems to identify and notify families whose children are due soon (reminder) or behind on immunizations (recall). These systems are among the most effective tools for catching children up and ensuring optimal vaccination rates. Many state Immunization Information Systems (IIS) and electronic health records (EHRs) can generate “due/overdue” reports that your practice can use to contact patients who need immunizations. Building these processes into your practice workflow is key.  

Steps to identify overdue patients may include: 

  • Define your target group.
    • Decide on an age range or immunization series to focus on if it is not feasible to contact all patients at once. 
  • Run due/overdue reports. 
    • In your IIS, run a forecast or due/overdue report for patients in your selected age range who are ≥30 days behind or coming due for vaccinations. 
    • Run the same report in your EHR. If you are unsure whether your EHR has this capability, check with your vendor. 
  • Reconcile IIS and EHR data. 
    • Compare the lists, update missing vaccine doses, and remove patients who have moved or transferred care. 
    • Reconciliation between IIS and EHR should be done periodically to maintain data accuracy. 
  • Create a clean outreach list. 
    • Finalize a list of active patients who are overdue. 
    • Deduplicate and verify contact information (phone, email, address, portal access). 

Choosing a Reminder or Recall Strategy 

Once you have a list of patients overdue or due soon for vaccines, you can start reaching out to them. Consider one or more of the strategies below.  When selecting a strategy, consider the communication preferences of patients and families in your practice. What percent of patients actively utilize the patient portal? Do patients respond to mailed reminders, or are patients/families more responsive to individual phone calls? Do families find text messages more convenient? 

  • Social Media is another way you can provide general reminders that your families should come in for immunizations and well visits. 
  • Reminder postcards and letters can be printed and mailed. You can pull a list from your EHR. Another approach is to have the family fill out the reminder card for the next visit (eg, dose 2 or 3 of HPV vaccine) when in your office. See the customizable postcards below! 
  • Patient portals  are a common feature of most EHR systems. Use the patient portal to send messages to prompt patients or parents to check their patient portal for reminders about immunizations that are due.​ 
  • Text messages are a great way to remind parents or adolescents about immunizations. Note that they will need to “opt in.” Obtain permission from families during office visits. 
  • Phone calls from office staff tend to be more effective than auto-dialer calls but often cost more in staff time. 
  • ​Auto-dialers automatically dial phone numbers and either play a recorded message or connect the call to a person. These systems also can be used for appointment reminders. 

Sample Messages  

General Reminder and Recall Messages  

Consider using or modifying the sample messages below. They may be best for text messages but are easily edited for use in other formats. 

Continue immunization series: Congratulations on starting the [immunization name] series for your child! In order to be fully protected, your child is due for the next dose in this series. Please call [PRACTICE NAME at PRACTICE NUMBER] today to schedule your child’s vaccine. 

Needing Catch-up immunization: You've fallen behind on immunizations your child needs, and [PRACTICE NAME] can help you get them back on track! Please call... 

Routine, on-time immunizations: “Hi! [Practice Name] is offering a friendly reminder that your child’s wellness visit and/or immunizations are due. On-time immunizations keep them healthy so they can thrive! Please call our office at [PRACTICE PHONE NUMBER] to schedule your child’s appointment. See you soon!” 

Newborn appointments: “Congratulations from [PRACTICE NAME] on your new baby! Newborn checkups ensure they're thriving. And immunizations help their immune system learn to recognize and resist viruses. If you've already scheduled your appointment, we'll see you soon. Call us at [PHONE NUMBER] if you need an appointment. 

Patient Immunization Reminder Language for Fall and Winter Virus Season  

Below is copy that can serve as correspondence for pediatricians to send to patients through online portals or other primary communications platform (including or text message). These messages serve as a reminder to check in about recommended immunizations and other ways to stay healthy this fall and winter virus season.   

  • SUBJECT: SUBJECT: Virus season is here! Are you ready? 

Flu, COVID, and RSV viruses are common in fall and winter. They spread easily and can cause serious illness. When your child is up-to-date with immunizations, their immune system stays ahead of those germs so they can remain healthy and grow. Call us at [number] or visit our online portal today to schedule your appointment. 

  • Did you know getting immunized for flu, COVID, and RSV cuts your child's risk of getting really sick from infection in half or more? Call [number] or visit [URL] to learn more and schedule an appointment.  

Auto-dialer or Text Vendors

Following are examples of auto-dialer or text vendors. Please note: The AAP does not endorse or recommend specific products or brands.

Customizable Reminder and Recall Resources

Social Media Graphics

Download the customizable Reminder-Recall graphics and instructions (PowerPoint).

Printable Resources

Download these high-resolution files, or letter template, customize with your practice information and print these postcards or letters for easy reminder and recall of your patients.

AAP Reminder-Recall Letter

 

AAP Reminder and Recall Postcard instructions: From the dropdown menu, select the postcard file for your preferred printing method. If you are using a printing service, select the Printer-Ready PDF file. If you wish to address and print* them yourself, select the Fillable PDF file. 

*To add your practice logo, select the Fillable PDF file. Hover over the space above the practice address field. A box will appear. Click the box and upload your logo. Logos should be 300 dpi and at least 1 inch in height, jpg format preferred, and will adjust to fit the space. 

Catch-up Postcard

Additional Resources

Last Updated

10/23/2024

Source

American Academy of Pediatrics