Medical assistants talk to families about vaccines in about half of visits, study finds

When families visit their pediatrician’s office, they often ask the medical assistant (MA) about vaccines, such as whether their children are due for vaccines or if the flu shot is available. Yet few studies have examined how MAs and receptionists communicate with patients. 

“Medical assistants talk with parents about vaccines all the time,” David Higgins, MD, MPH, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Colorado Anschutz, told CIDRAP News. “We, unfortunately, have left them out of the many efforts to improve vaccination rates in primary care, and it really is a gaping hole.” 

Higgins is the lead author on a study published late last week in Pediatrics that examines how MAs talk about vaccines.  

“This study is one of the first that shows that other members of the care team, like medical assistants are already [communicating about vaccines],” he said. “However, they don’t consistently use some of the best practices for communicating, and that’s in part because no one trained them how.” 

The study highlights the importance of all staff in a practice being trained in vaccine communication. 

“A lot of these staff followed informal protocols, or their communication styles were self-taught,” Jessica Malaty Rivera, MS, executive director at the Infodemiology Initiative at Public Good Projects, told CIDRAP News. “If you’re not trained to talk about vaccines in a way that’s not misleading or perhaps incorrect, that could be a problem.” She was not involved in the study.

The study did not provide a definition for the role MAs play. Higgins explained that MAs are unlicensed staff that train through certificate and diploma programs. “In primary care, MAs are typically the first clinical team member a family sees and does vitals, rooming, screenings, and immunizations,” he said. 

Receptionists much less likely to mention vaccines

The research took place in two different pediatric practices in the Denver area in summer and fall 2024. One practice treated mostly privately insured families, and the other treated mostly publicly insured families. 

“We did this just to see how communication may differ between practices,” Higgins explained. 

Researchers observed 25 different MAs in 127 encounters with patients and 47 receptionist-family interactions. About half of MA and parent encounters (51%) involved a conversation about vaccines.