The survey found that a vast majority of independent practices actively seeking COVID-19 vaccines have not received a single dose.
Physician practices are lagging behind the push to vaccinate Americans against the COVID-19 coronavirus.
According to a press release from the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA), a survey found that 85 percent of the independent practices that responded and 45 percent of the hospitals actively seeking vaccine doses for patients have not received any to date.
Meanwhile, most practices that have been given doses have reported that they were only given enough supplies to vaccinate 1 percent or less of their patients, the release says.
“Current distribution efforts are moving patients away from trusted ties with their doctors and forcing them into haphazard vaccinations,” said Halee Fischer-Wright, MD, MMM, FAAP, FACMPE, MGMA president and CEO, in the publication. “Physician practices have the capacity and strategic ability to deliver the vaccine proactively by identifying patients by age, pre-existing conditions and other risk factors. Patients trust their doctors to answer questions about the safety and efficacy of vaccines. MGMA is calling on the new government to leverage the country’s medical groups to accelerate and streamline vaccine rollouts. Without doctors at the helm of this critical effort, patients will be left behind. “