How Two Health Systems Made Their COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout as Efficient as Possible

The health system didn't have an automated system in the beginning of the COVID-19 vaccination process. Instead, upon checking out after receiving the vaccine, they would manually schedule appointments, which posed several time and efficiency issues that auto-scheduling fixed.

One of the biggest factors of a successful rollout, Ms. Montgomery concluded, would be sufficient staffing.

Sanford Health has sent emails, texts, phone calls, and letters in the mail and has leveraged MyChart to notify patients when they're eligible to receive the vaccine, Ms. Polkinghorn said. Sanford also set up a specific phone line for patients to call with any questions about the vaccine.  

Systems need to have a good pulse on supply chain, i.e., how many doses they're receiving and what the maximum capacity they can reach in a day is, said Ms. Polkinghorn, emphasizing the importance of number-crunching before going live.