What to tell your patients about flu vaccinations

Over the next 3-4 months, faculty and staff will see a lot of institutional messaging encouraging Michigan Medicine employees to get their flu shots. But what should you tell your patients?

According to Greta Branford, M.D., associate chief medical information officer for ambulatory care and assistant professor of internal medicine/pediatrics, the following talking points will not only help patients simplify the flu vaccination process, but they will allow Michigan Medicine to manage appointments more efficiently and effectively. 

What to tell your Michigan Medicine patients:

• The best place to receive your flu vaccination is through your Michigan Medicine primary care physician’s office. Primary care offices will be scheduling vaccine appointments in 5-10-minute intervals with the goal of getting patients in and out as efficiently as possible.
• Have a specialty appointment in the books sometime in the next few months? Some specialty clinics have flu vaccines available for their patients, so call to see if this is an option for you.When specialty clinics provide immunizations, not only does it “lessen the load” on primary care clinics, but it saves the patient valuable time. A win-win!
• Self-scheduling is the best way to make, reschedule or cancel a flu vaccine appointment. Beginning Sept. 2, patients can self-schedule flu vaccines through the patient portal. By accessing myuofmhealth.org on their computer, phone or tablet, patients can search through available immunization appointments and find the date and time that is most convenient for them.
• Need to schedule flu vaccines for your child(ren)? New this year, parents with proxy rights now have the ability to schedule flu shots for their children under the age of 18. Children under 18 must have a parent present to receive the vaccine.
• All Michigan Medicine outpatient clinics will have at least two Saturday and two evening sessions per month to better serve patients. With so many patients juggling their personal and professional lives, time is at a premium. Providing weekend and evening dates/times helps make things just a bit easier.
• If making an appointment though a provider isn’t a convenient option, adult patients can visit one of the many Michigan Visiting Nurses (MVN) walk-in clinics for a flu immunization. Sometimes it’s just easier for people to make time for their flu shot as time comes available. Click here for more information, along with a list of upcoming MVN Flu Immunization Clinics.

So what’s the most important takeaway for Michigan Medicine clinicians?

“When patients self-schedule their flu shots through myuofmhealth.org, it provides them with a 24-hour/day scheduling option,” said Branford. “It also saves our clinics time and allows them to process more flu shots per day, making the flu vaccination process that much more efficient.”