Hospitals in pursuit of excellence

HPOD: Hospital Point of Dispensing

Mount St. Mary's Hospital and Healthcare Center created the hospital point of dispensing (HPOD) to mass-vaccinate staff to protect patients during influenza season. All staff are strongly encouraged to get vaccinated at one of the HPODs, which takes about seven minutes per staff member, on average. On the front end, a unidirectional flow is established through the hospital lobby of registration, education, inoculation, and, if necessary, observation. This requires a great deal of collaboration with patient access and registration, nursing, and pharmacy staff. On the back end, it requires the collaboration of patient accounting staff to process and bill insurances for administration; environmental services to ensure all tables, chairs and barriers are in place; and facilities staff and security to maintain patient flow.