Vaccination certificate check in the pharmacy
Pharmacists should also make sure that the person who wants to be vaccinated in the pharmacy has not yet received the planned vaccination, e.g. against influenza, for this season. This may sound absurd at first, but not everyone knows what they are currently vaccinated against. A look at the vaccination record helps. If the vaccination record is missing, the RKI recommends finding out information about previous vaccinations from medical records. If the vaccination status is unknown, it should be assumed that vaccinations are missing in the interest of the person to be protected, the RKI explains further. [7].
Patient questionnaires alone are not enough
The Federal Chamber of Pharmacists (BAK) advises: “In each case, it must be assessed individually whether the patient can be vaccinated at the current time,” taking into account the patient’s vaccination or recovery history as well as the information in the vaccine’s product information. [5, 6].
Can’t pharmacists simply conduct the vaccination history using patient questionnaires? No. From a legal point of view, patient questionnaires can only be used as a supplement, since the (medical) consultation is sometimes considered indispensable [8]The vaccination history is therefore part of what was formerly a purely medical vaccination service. Pharmacists should take this seriously and then take it over from doctors – as well as the act of actually administering the vaccination. [4].
RKI: Medical history forms for COVID-19 vaccination
However, the Federal Chamber of Pharmacists refers – at least for COVID-19 vaccinations – to supporting information sheets with anamnesis forms and consent forms from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). If you enter the web code A7HQ9 in the search function on DAZ.online, you will go directly to the documents. These are addressed to the vaccinating doctor, which is why the BAK recommends that pharmacists “handwrite the terms ‘vaccinating doctor’, ‘doctor’ and ‘medical’ in the printout with ‘pharmacist’.” [6].
Don’t forget the information session
Pharmacists should also inform the customers to be vaccinated in accordance with Section 35a Paragraph 4 ApBetrO and
- inform about the benefits of vaccination and the disease to be prevented,
- point out possible side effects, complications and contraindications,
- recommend behavioral measures following vaccination,
- inform about the start and duration of vaccination and
- point out booster vaccinations [5, 6].
