MGMA Survey: Physician practices left out of COVID-19 vaccine rollout

Physician practices are being left behind in the push to vaccinate Americans against the COVID-19 coronavirus.

According to a news release from the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA), a survey found that 85 percent of responding independent practices and 45 percent of responding hospitals which are actively seeking vaccine doses for patients have not received any to date.

Meanwhile, the majority of practices that have obtained doses have reported they’ve only received enough supply to vaccinate 1 percent or less of their patients, the release says.

“Current distribution efforts take patients away from trusted ties with their physicians and force them into haphazard vaccine chasing,” Halee Fischer-Wright, MD, MMM, FAAP, FACMPE, president and CEO of MGMA, says in the release. “Physician practices have the capacity and strategic ability to proactively deliver the vaccine by identifying patients by age, preexisting conditions, and other risk factors. Patients trust their physicians to answer questions about vaccine safety and efficacy. MGMA calls on the new Administration to leverage the nation’s medical groups to expedite and streamline the vaccine rollout. Without physicians at the helm of this critical effort, patients will be left behind.”