AMGA Members Offer Vaccination Experience, Expertise to Biden Administration; Physician Offices Crucial to Achieving Goal of 100 Million Vaccinations
Alexandria, VA – AMGA today recommended the Biden Administration enlist multispecialty medical group practices to inoculate patients against COVID-19 and reach the president’s goal of vaccinating 100 million people in 100 days. While this is a daunting figure, AMGA members have the capacity, as well as the experience and expertise with vaccination campaigns, to vaccinate millions of patients and help reach the goal. AMGA member medical practices have the information technology infrastructure and staff needed to safely schedule and administer COVID-19 vaccines. By tapping these resources, AMGA members can ameliorate the burden on community vaccination centers and provide additional access points to the vaccine.
“President Biden has a solid plan to increase the number of people who are vaccinated,” said AMGA President and CEO Jerry Penso, M.D., M.B.A. “AMGA members have the capacity to vaccinate millions of patients, something they do every year, but they also are a source of comfort and trusted information for our patients. Instead of asking patients to navigate an unfamiliar website to schedule a vaccine, our members’ care managers can schedule appointments as part of a vaccination clinic and allow patients to remain safe in their homes until it is their turn, rather than waiting in a parking lot.”
AMGA’s recommendations build on President Biden’s National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness. While AMGA recognizes and supports the need for community vaccination centers, the federal response also should coordinate with medical group practices. Our members’ electronic medical records can identify and alert providers to which patients are eligible for vaccination. Then, it will trigger an alert so case managers can follow up with patients and ensure they receive a second dose at the appropriate time. Relying on group practices to schedule appointments will relieve some of the responsibility from county health departments or other community vaccination efforts for tracking patients.
AMGA’s letter to President Biden is available here.
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About AMGA
AMGA is a trade association leading the transformation of health care in America. Representing multispecialty medical groups and integrated systems of care, we advocate, educate, innovate, and empower our members to deliver the next level of high performance health. AMGA is the national voice promoting awareness of our members’ recognized excellence in the delivery of coordinated, high-quality, high-value care. More than 175,000 physicians practice in our member organizations, delivering care to one in three Americans.