RESEARCH WEEKLY: Distributing COVID-19 Vaccines at Psychiatric Hospitals By Elizabeth Sinclair Hancq People with severe mental illness have a higher risk for serious illness or death from COVID-19, according to multiple research studies. As the Office of Research and Public Affairs wrote in our newest report, COVID-19 Vaccination for People with Severe Mental Illness, released last week, vaccination is a vital step to protect the health and safety of vulnerable individuals from COVID-19. New research published in Psychiatric Services this month examined the feasibility of offering COVID-19 vaccinations to patients in psychiatric hospitals. Because of the high risk of individuals with mental illness, “A successful vaccination strategy will likely have to take every opportunity to engage this population outside of general medical care,” the authors from Mathematica write. Psychiatric hospitals will play an important role in the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. For hospitals that receive Medicare payments, the federal government already requires psychiatric hospitals to screen patients for if they have received the annual flu vaccine and offer immunization if they haven’t. The researchers sought to determine the feasibility of psychiatric hospitals in distributing the COVID-19 vaccine to their patients by analyzing whether psychiatric hospitals are in communities vulnerable to COVID-19, the extent to which they have been successful in distributing the flu vaccine and if the hospital can ensure patients receive the second COVID-19 dose if necessary. Study results The authors included an analysis of 1,602 inpatient psychiatric facilities as part of the inpatient psychiatric facility quality reporting program data for fiscal year 2018. They found that, on average, 84% of patients were screened for flu vaccination status and vaccinated if indicated. Just over half of patients had their patient records transferred to another medical provider after discharge from the hospital, with the lowest-performing facilities concentrated in the southern part of the United States. When comparing the psychiatric hospital location to county COVID-19 vulnerability index scores, the authors found that 23% of psychiatric hospitals are in counties with high or very high communities vulnerable to COVID-19. These same hospitals also scored lower than average on providing follow-up care to discharged patients. The authors suggest that psychiatric hospitals in counties with high COVID-19 vulnerability should address barriers to receiving follow-up care to help ensure discharged patients can receive their second dose, such as providing transportation to the vaccine clinic if needed. “Successfully distributing COVID-19 vaccines in these facilities would require not only focusing efforts on establishing new vaccine distribution processes within the facilities but also on improving transmission of discharge information to other providers and ensuring that patients receive timely follow-up care,” the authors conclude. Due to the vulnerability of patients with serious mental illness to COVID-19, the results of this study indicate that distributing COVID-19 vaccinations at psychiatric hospitals could have a large impact on protecting the health and safety of individuals with severe mental illness. References: Brown, J., & Bell, N. (2021, September). Role of psychiatric hospitals in the equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. Psychiatric Services. Elizabeth Sinclair Hancq is the director of research at the Treatment Advocacy Center. View as Webpage To receive Research Weekly directly in your email inbox on a weekly basis, click here. Questions? Contact us at [email protected] Research Weekly is a summary published as a public service of the Treatment Advocacy Center and does not necessarily reflect the findings or positions of the organization or its staff. Full access to research summarized may require a fee or paid subscription to the publications. The Treatment Advocacy Center does not solicit or accept funds from pharmaceutical companies. Treatment Advocacy Center | 200 N Glebe Rd, Ste 801, Arlington, VA 22203 Unsubscribe [email protected] Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice Sent by [email protected] powered by Try email marketing for free today!