Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices- the American Academy of Pediatrics- and the American Academy of Family Physicians: use of reminder and recall by vaccination providers to increase vaccination rates.

This statement by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)- the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)- and the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) presents and recommends a programmatic strategy-the use of a reminder and/or recall (R/R) system by vaccination providers-to increase vaccination rates. In 1992- a national survey indicated that 8% of pediatricians and 5% of family physicians had implemented a manual vaccination R/R system and 6% and 5%- respectively- used a computer-based system for vaccination R/R messages. In 1993- the National Vaccine Advisory Committee issued the Standards for Pediatric Immunization Practices which recommend that all public and private health-care providers use a vaccination R/R system. These standards were endorsed by ACIP- AAP- and AAFP. By 1995 a survey indicated that R/R systems were used by 35% of pediatricians and 23% of family physicians (R. Zimmerman- University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine- personal communication- 1995).