Shared clinical decision-making on vaccines: out of sight, out of mind

Clinical decision support systems, which provide automated reminders in electronic health systems, are designed to provide physicians and other health professionals support in clinical decision-making. New clinical guidance from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices on a new category of recommendations referred to as “shared clinical decision-making” have left providers struggling to interpret how to best implement recommendations for adult vaccines. The issue at hand is how to ensure that a conversation between the patient and provider occurs. While traditional clinical decision support systems have driven immunization for years, these systems support a binary default opt-in process. The goal for shared decision-making is the discussion rather than the vaccination. The recommended provider–patient conversations need to be supported with both provider guidance as well as tools to ensure vaccines are not omitted from the conversations, particularly as future vaccine candidates progress through the vaccine development pipeline.