By Andrew Reeves, Chief Operating Officer, BioIQ
As I was perusing the news recently, a story grabbed my attention. It was about an international flight attendant who contracted measles. Five months later, she died from the disease. The World Health Organization says more than 360,000 people worldwide have had measles this year. Two years ago, there were 110,000 deaths from measles. In this day and age, it’s unacceptable that a disease which can be prevented by an immunization (or a series of them) is still killing people. That article reminded me that August was National Immunization Awareness Month – a time for health plans to think about the important role immunizations play in their members’ health.
Vaccines Prevent Diseases in Adults Too
Despite well-documented positive impact, adults are not receiving vaccinations at recommended levels. That needs to change because low vaccination rates result in preventable diseases, deaths, disabilities, medical costs and other losses. Thinking of my own healthcare habits, I think one reason adults don’t get vaccinated is because they aren’t always aware of the immunizations we should receive. It’s worth the effort to stay in the know when it comes what vaccines you need – vaccination is one of the most convenient and safest preventive care measures available. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), adults need to keep their vaccinations up to date because immunity from childhood vaccines can wear off over time. Plus, adults are at risk for different diseases than children.
Vaccination is one of the most convenient and safest preventive care measures available. The CDC is educating people on the importance of immunizations by providing a questionnaire to steer people to needed vaccines. It asks basic questions like age, general health, over-seas travel, if you work at hospital, nursing home, etc.
BioIQ’s Immunization Solution
Now, the next step, ensuring that adults get the vaccines needed, is where BioIQ steps in to support health plans and employers. BioIQ’s comprehensive immunization solution includes a high-quality, national network of pharmacists and sophisticated tools for coordinating and delivering the CDC’s recommended vaccinations to help keep people healthy.
We help organizations connect people to immunizations in a variety of convenient settings – at their workplace, their doctor’s office or in a retail pharmacy. We manage all aspects of the immunization program from the BioIQ Platform – from scheduling and participant engagement to timely completion reporting. Our approach provides a range of benefits to health plans, employers and the people they want to keep healthy, including:
- Coordination of participant eligibility, outreach and program communication, and vaccine administration and reporting.
- Driving participation with BioIQ’s consumer analytics and engagement tools to strategically engage noncompliant participants to complete vaccinations.
- Delivering detailed, timely reporting on who has completed their immunizations.
Make it a priority to stay up to date on your immunizations. And even though it still feels like summer (particularly here in the south), it’s not too early to roll up your sleeve and get your flu shot.
Andrew Reeves
BioIQ’s Chief Operating Officer
As BioIQ’s chief operating officer, Andrew has responsibility for all client-facing functions across the organization, including the marketing, product, sales, client success and sales enablement teams. Prior to joining the BioIQ team, he held a number of leadership positions at Cigna throughout his 12-year tenure.
Andrew earned a bachelor’s degree from Florida State University in marketing and communications. He currently lives in Atlanta and enjoys spending time with family, exercising and being outdoors.