Patient Flow Time Data of COVID-19 Vaccination Clinics in 23 Sites, United States, April and May 2021

15 Pages Posted: 6 Aug 2022

See all articles by Bo-Hyun Cho

Bo-Hyun Cho

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Heba M. Athar

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Laurel G. Bates

RTI International

Benjamin O. Yarnoff

RTI International

LaTreace Q. Harris

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Michael L. Washington

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Nkenge H. Jones-Jack

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Jamison Pike

Government of the United States of America - National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases

Abstract

Introduction: Public health department (PHD) led COVID-19 vaccination clinics can be a critical component of pandemic response as they facilitate high volume of vaccination. However, few patient-time analyses examining patient throughput at mass vaccination clinics with unique COVID-19 vaccination challenges have been published.

Methods: During April and May of 2021, 521 patients in 23 COVID-19 vaccination sites counties of 6 states were followed to measure the time spent from entry to vaccination. The total time was summarized and tabulated by clinic characteristics. A multivariate linear regression analysis was conducted to evaluate the association between vaccination clinic settings and patient waiting times in the clinic.

Results: The average time a patient spent in the clinic from entry to vaccination was 9 minutes 5 seconds (range: 02:00 - 23:39). Longer patient flow times were observed in clinics with higher numbers of doses administered, 6 or fewer vaccinators, walk-in patients accepted, dedicated services for people with disabilities, and drive-through clinics. The multivariate linear regression showed that longer patient waiting times were significantly associated with the number of vaccine doses administered, dedicated services for people with disabilities, the presence of translators on site, the availability of more than one brand of vaccine, and rurality.

Conclusions: Given the standardized procedures outlined by immunization guidelines, reducing the wait time is critical in lowering the patient flow time by relieving the bottleneck effect in the clinic. Our study suggests enhancing the efficiency of PHD-led vaccination clinics by preparing vaccinators to provide vaccines with proper and timely support such as training or delivering necessary supplies and paperwork to the vaccinators. In addition, patient wait time can be spent answering questions about vaccination or reviewing educational materials on other public health services.

Note:

Funding Information: Data collection was conducted in collaboration with RTI International, under contract 200-2013-M-53964B to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Declaration of Interests: None.

Ethics Approval Statement: This study was reviewed by the RTI Institutional Review Board and determined not to be human subjects research and had the public health emergency waiver for data collection at the clinics.

Keywords: COVID-19 vaccine, mass vaccination, patient time, throughput time, public health emergency

Suggested Citation

Cho, Bo-Hyun and Athar, Heba M. and Bates, Laurel G. and Yarnoff, Benjamin O. and Harris, LaTreace Q. and Washington, Michael L. and Jones-Jack, Nkenge H. and Pike, Jamison, Patient Flow Time Data of COVID-19 Vaccination Clinics in 23 Sites, United States, April and May 2021. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4183256 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4183256

Bo-Hyun Cho (Contact Author)

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( email )

Heba M. Athar

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( email )

Laurel G. Bates

RTI International ( email )

PO Box 12194
Washington, DC 20036-3209
United States

Benjamin O. Yarnoff

RTI International ( email )

PO Box 12194
Washington, DC 20036-3209
United States

LaTreace Q. Harris

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( email )

Michael L. Washington

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( email )

Nkenge H. Jones-Jack

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( email )

Jamison Pike

Government of the United States of America - National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases ( email )

1600 Clifton Road NE
Atlanta, GA 30333
United States

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