The VFC Program conducts site and educational visits and assessments with each VFC provider.

Enrollment Visit

Enrollment visits are required for newly enrolling providers or VFC providers that have dis-enrolled in the program for six (6) months or more. The purpose of this visit is to provide education on the VFC Program requirements and to verify the VFC provider meets the program requirements. VFC Consultants conduct the enrollment visit and approve the VFC provider. Following the enrollment visit, a full/initial VFC compliance visit will occur in three to six (3 – 6) months. VFC providers must have experience ordering and administering VFC vaccines prior to the full/initial VFC compliance visit.

Compliance or Site Visit

A compliance or site visit consists of an examination of vaccine management and delivery practices to ensure compliance with VFC Program requirements. The site or compliance visit involves administration of a questionnaire, evaluating compliance with requirements and providing education. During the visit, there will be a formal review of vaccine management practices, as well as a review of patient records and other documentation to assure appropriate vaccine eligibility screening and administration documentation is occurring. VFC Consultants conduct VFC site or compliance visits at least every twenty-four months. VFC providers with non-compliances at site visits must submit all necessary corrections to the VFC Consultant.

Some areas assessed at a site visit include:

• Identifying VFC-eligibility criteria
• Providing billing information, including administration fees
• Eligibility and screening documentation
• Vaccine Management Plan [NEEDS LINK] [BROKEN LINK] and Emergency Response Plan [NEEDS LINK] [BROKEN LINK] review
• Chart/record review for documentation
• Borrowing reports
• Temperature reports and documentation
• Storage unit and vaccine inventory assessment
• Certificates of calibration for DDLs

Storage and Handling Visits

The VFC Program conducts both unannounced and announced storage and handling visits. These visits serve as “spot checks” for VFC providers and the management of VFC vaccines. Storage and handling visits are not considered site or compliance visits and do not count toward the annual training requirement. VFC Consultants conduct storage and handling visits; any corrections not completed during the storage and handling visit are submitted to the VFC Consultant.

Educational Visits

The VFC Program offers educational visits for VFC providers when there is a change in the Medical Director, Primary VFC Contact or Back-Up VFC Contact. Educational visits can also be conducted when there are concerns at the clinic regarding compliance with VFC Program requirements. VFC Consultants can offer technical education to ensure the VFC provider meets program requirements. Please contact your VFC Consultant for this type of visit.

Immunization Quality Improvement for Providers (IQIP)

IQIP is CDC’s national quality improvement initiative for VFC providers. The purpose of IQIP is to promote and support the implementation of provider-level immunization quality improvement strategies designed to increase vaccine uptake among children and adolescents, in adherence to the routine schedule recommended by ACIP.

IQIP Consultants conduct IQIP visits with select VFC providers in their region annually. The goals of IQIP visits are to ensure providers are:

• Aware of and knowledgeable about their immunization rates,
• Motivated to incorporate changes into their current practices,
• Ready to try new immunization service strategies, and
• Capable of sustaining improvements to their vaccination delivery services.

The IQIP process begins with assessments conducted on 24 – 35-month-old children and 13 – 17- year-old adolescents, using immunization data from ShowMeVax. Children are assessed based on the 4 DTaP, 3 Polio, 1 MMR, 3 Hib, 3 Hep B, 1 Varicella, and 4 PCV series, and adolescents are assessed based on the meningococcal, Tdap, and HPV series according to their age.

Coverage rates are shared with the provider and staff during the initial IQIP site visit and then discuss strategies to improve immunization rates.

Two and six months after the initial IQIP visit, the IQIP Consultant will conduct check-ins via telephone to review the progress. Twelve months after the initial IQIP visit, the IQIP Consultant will conduct a follow-up in-person or by telephone to review progress and possible changes in the assessment rates.

Regional IQIP Consultants [NEEDS LINK] can be contacted for additional information regarding assistance with IQIP visits or assessments