ImmsBC system is used for the following functions:
- Scheduling and managing appointments
- Vaccine data entry
- Inventory and wastage
- Reports
Influenza vaccine administration fee
The publicly funded influenza vaccine administration fee is $12.10 when given to an eligible B.C. resident.Pharmacies cannot charge individuals when administering publicly funded vaccines.
For non-BC residents, they may be offered private stock or refer them to public health. Effective October 14, 2022, pharmacies can claim for the drug administration fee ($11.41) when administering private flu vaccines – see belowPrivate Supply of Flu vaccines.
Nurses: Pharmacies may contract nurses to administer influenza vaccinations. Nurses must be licensed by the B.C. College of Nurses and Midwives (BCCNM); i.e., they must be an active registrant of that college. Pharmacies can claim the vaccine administration fee of $12.10 when the vaccine is administered by a nurse. SeePharmacare Newsletter September 7, 2022.
Registered Pharmacy Technicians: Effective November 4, 2022, the new PHO order permits registered pharmacy technicians (RPhT) to prepare and administer influenza vaccines via IM injection or intranasal route. Pharmacies can claim the administration fee $12.10 when the vaccine is administered by a RPhT. Similar to the COVID-19 PHO order, these orders are time limited to the declared COVID-19 public health emergency and are not currently permanent changes to scope of practice.
Pharmacare resource: Pharmacare Policy Manual Section 8.10
PharmaNet data entry not required for publicly funded influenza vaccines
PharmaNet data entry is not required for publicly funded influenza vaccines. ImmsBC single entry will result in the automatic entry in PharmaNet and payment to pharmacies. As information entered in ImmsBC is then entered in PharmaNet, the Ministry expects that pharmacy entry of information in ImmsBC will comply with the same standards as any other entry in PharmaNet.
Note that the information in PharmaNet will not be visible or in the patient’s PharmaNet dispense history, and therefore not accessible for clinical purposes. The patient’s full clinical record can be viewed in ImmsBC or CareConnect. Ensure to check patient’s allergies and drug history before administering the vaccine and record any reaction in ImmsBC.
For non-publicly funded (private) influenza vaccines, continue to enter into PharmaNet only (do not enter in ImmsBC).
ImmsBC pharmacy profile – vaccine information
When you are ready to accept influenza appointments ensure you add the appropriate influenza vaccines to the “Vaccine Information” field in your pharmacy’s ImmsBC profile. This will ensure that the public can find your pharmacy when searching to book an influenza appointment through the Get Vaccinated provincial booking portal.
A new update has rolled out on the various "Vaccine Information" descriptors available. This will allow pharmacies to accept appointments for those ages 4+ for flu without allowing those under 12 to book for COVID-19 vaccinations.
It will also allow for pharmacies to remove vaccine booking options if you run out of a particular vaccine (e.g., if you run out of bivalent, but want to continue flu and monovalent or if you run out of Fluzone QIV and only have Fluad for those 65+). This will prevent further appointment bookings for those services going forward until you have more vaccines on hand.
This update will impact the visibility of your pharmacy's appointment availability immediately if you do not update your Vaccine Information selections on your pharmacy's profile on ImmsBC.
Please follow the steps below to update:
1. Log in to "ImmsBC"
2. Go to the "Clinic In a Box" area
3. Search for your pharmacy and open your pharmacy "Profile"
4. From the "Details" tab, click on the edit pencil beside "Vaccine Information"
5. New Options Available:
• "C19 mRNA bivalent vaccine 18+" for bivalent vaccines
• "C19 mRNA vaccine - 12+" for monovalent vaccines
• Do not select “C19 mRNA vaccine – 5 to 11” or “C19 mRNA vaccine – 6 months to 4 years” to prevent bookings for children
6. Leave old options, there is no need to edit or remove "COVID-19 mRNA vaccine (includes bivalent vaccine)" and "Influenza (Flu) - Regular dose".
7. Click on "Save"
8. Review the options selected in the "Vaccine Information" to ensure it has been saved.
Setting Flu vaccine options
To accept flu appointments, please update your “Vaccine Information” based on your flu vaccine supply and update the “Minimum Age” if appropriate.
Fluad
- Vaccine Information option - “Influenza (Injectable) – 65+”
Fluzone Quad, Flulaval and Alfuria
- Vaccine Information option - “Influenza (Injectable) – 6 months to 64”
- Minimum Age = 4, if you plan to provide to young children
- Minimum Age = 12, if you do not plan to provide to children
FluMist
- Vaccine Information option – “Influenza (Nasal Spray) – 2 to 17”
- Minimum Age = 4, appointments for <4 would have to be booked manually
If you run out of a particular vaccine during the campaign, you can remove any of the Vaccine selections to prevent further appointment bookings for that vaccine going forward.
Account for co-administration when setting up your scheduler
The ImmsBC Scheduler does not currently allow users to create vaccine specific appointment types (e.g. flu only appointments, COVID-19 only appointments or COVID-19 and flu appointments). Therefore, users must account for the fact each appointment could be for co-administration.
For example:
If a pharmacy typically sets appointments every 10 minutes for COVID-19 vaccinations, they might want to consider setting it to every 15 minutes starting Oct 11 onwards as each appointment could potentially be for both COVID-19 and influenza. When appointments are only for one vaccine, you could consider using the unused time to offer vaccinations to walk-in clients.
Inventory management
Because each appointment could be for either or both COVID-19 and influenza you should pay close attention to your inventory of each vaccine type and may want to set appointments based on the vaccine which you have (or will have based on incoming supply) the least of.
If you temporarily run out of supply of either product, we recommend you update your “Vaccine Information” options as well (e.g. if you run out of Fluzone, please remove the influenza for 12-64 option).
You can review what vaccine the client has selected when booking the appointment in your “Clinic In a Box > Client List > “Client Reason for Visit” column. These selections do not account for eligibility, simply the intention of the client for their visit.
Enter vaccine record in ImmsBC after administration of vaccine
Do NOT create influenza vaccination administration records before the patient actually receives the vaccination
Do not complete the vaccine administration process in ImmsBC until after the vaccination administration has actually occurred. Unlike PharmaNet, you cannot reverse this record if a client changes their mind prior to being vaccinated. This will impact the PIR data and client ability to make another appointment until the issue is resolved.
Please contact immunizationsupport@bcpharmacy.caif you need an erroneous record deleted.
Backdated entries
Unlike PharmaNet, if a vaccine record was inadvertently entered into ImmsBC on the wrong date, this cannot be reversed. Please complete the downtime form with the correct vaccination details and submit to immunizationsupport@bcpharmacy.ca for manual entry and request for the incorrect vaccination record to be removed.
