Faculty Peer Reviewed
There are more than a million cases of herpes zoster (HZ) in the US annually [1-3]. The incidence of HZ, or shingles, has been rising in the US since the 1990s [2,4-7]. One third of all people in the US will get HZ, with the highest incidence in people aged 50 to 79 [2,5]. As a result of the Shingles Prevention Study (SPS), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) approved the Zostavax vaccine (Merck & Co Inc, Whitehouse Station, New Jersey) for the prevention of HZ in 2006 for immunocompetent patients aged 60 and above . The FDA extended the approval to patients aged 50 to 59 in March 2011 .
Despite strong evidence of efficacy, the uptake of zoster vaccination among eligible patients has been significantly less than other standard adult vaccines [1,10-13]. CDC estimates show that only 15.8% of eligible patients received the vaccine in 2011, up from 14.4% in 2010, 10% in 2009, and 6.7% in 2008 [13,14]. The 2011 rates were even lower in African Americans (7.9%) and Hispanics (8.0%). Our 2011 survey at NYU found that that only 66% of general internal medicine physicians responded that HZ vaccination was an important clinical priority, and 48% reported that less than 10% of their patients received the HZ vaccine . Why has this evidence-based medicine not been translated into standard clinical care?
Evidence behind the efficacy of the HZ vaccine
Published in 2005, the Shingles Prevention Study demonstrated that HZ vaccine reduced the burden of illness by 61%, the incidence of post-herpetic neuralgia by 66.5%, and incidence of zoster by 51.3% . Since then, the HZ vaccine has repeatedly been shown to be safe and efficacious. A 2012 study reported the efficacy of preventing HZ in persons 50-59 to be 69.8%  and another found the hazard ratio of recurrent HZ in patients under 70 to be 0.39 among vaccinated patients compared with unvaccinated patients . A Cochrane Review of 3 randomized controlled studies of HZ vaccination efficacy found a risk ratio for HZ to be 0.49 in all vaccinated patients . Furthermore, the 4-year follow-up to the SPS showed continued reductions in burden of illness of 50.1% .
Current barriers to the use of the HZ vaccine
Most of the barriers to HZ vaccination use are related to difficulties distributing the vaccine and a lack of physician recommendation. Hurley and colleagues identified the top barriers for physicians to be the perceived cost to patients, reimbursement difficulties, and the up-front cost of stocking the vaccine . Patients with Medicaid (which covers the vaccine) and those without insurance have overall lower HZ coverage and greater difficulty accessing adult vaccines [1,21].
Additional studies have described a lack of strong physician recommendation as a major barrier to patient adherence with national guidelines [11,12]. Hurley reported that only 41 percent of physicians strongly recommended the zoster vaccine . A study in the Netherlands by Opstelten and colleagues found that a lack of strong physician recommendations accounted for an odds ratio of 4.0 for patients refusing the HZ vaccine when offered free with a yearly influenza vaccine . Correspondingly, a study estimated that 95.1% of unvaccinated patients had at least one missed opportunity to be offered the zoster vaccine at an outpatient visit . Even when the HZ vaccine was offered for free by ophthalmologists at the Bellevue Eye Clinic during regularly scheduled appointments, 47% of patients who refused the vaccine reported wanting to speak to their primary care physician . None returned to receive the vaccine.
Framework to overcome barriers in translating evidenced-based medicine into clinical practice
Cabana and colleagues described that to overcome barriers to physician adherence to evidence-based practice, there must first be a change in knowledge, then attitude . Knowledge can be limited by lack of awareness of the published guidelines. Attitude can be affected by disagreement with guidelines, a lack of clinical priority, or insecurity in performing the task. Finally, physician behaviors can be affected by patient adherence and structural barriers within the health system.
All of these issues must be addressed through interventions to increase adherence to national vaccination guidelines. System supports can be implemented to improve physician attitudes towards HZ vaccination. Chaudhry and colleagues evaluated clinical decision support software as part of the electronic medical record at the Mayo Clinic and found an increase in vaccine utilization of 43% and 54% at two clinics . Loo and colleagues described a statistical increase in pneumococcal vaccination and influenza vaccination at Beth Israel Deaconess following implementation of EMR reminders . Physician reminders can be more successful when combined with patient reminders  or nurse-initiated reminders .
However, time and general changes in the healthcare system are also needed to increase utilization. For example, in 2011, 62.3% of eligible patients in the US received the pneumococcal vaccine . Interventions to increase use of that vaccine started in 1981 with Medicare covering it, but by 1989 only 14.1% of eligible adults 65 and older were vaccinated . The HZ vaccine was only approved for immunocompetent patients 60 and older in 2006, and healthcare system-wide changes have only begun. New York State began to allow certified pharmacists to administer the HZ vaccine with a prescription in October 2012, and Merck began a marketing campaign about shingles that year as well. More time may be needed to see overall changes in patient and provider behaviors.
In a commentary in 2003 in the New England Journal of Medicine, Lenfant described how healthcare providers and the public were not applying the vast wealth of clinical knowledge gained in the 20th century to clinical practice . He explained that there were structural, economic, and motivational barriers to the adoption of evidence-based medicine; however, a major problem is that research rarely focuses on translating knowledge to public use. Simple interventions like the ones described and demonstration of cost effectiveness can go a long way to improving physician and patient adherence. More operational research is needed to describe which interventions work best in varied clinical settings. This may be the best approach to increase use of the HZ vaccine.
Commentary by Dr. Michael Simberkoff
There were specific problems with the shingles vaccine that hampered initial enthusiasm for its use. These include the cost of the vaccine compared to others that are commonly available, the mechanism that was set up for reimbursement (Medicare Part D), the difficulty of shipment and storage of the vaccine in a frozen state until it is used, and the shortages of vaccine due to production problems that led to shortages of the vaccine at a time when its use should have been promoted. Many of these issues have been resolved, but they slowed acceptance of an otherwise useful vaccine. The author suggests that more widespread use of the EMR will improve adherence to guidelines. I would agree that the EMR can provide reminders about good clinical practices, but remain skeptical that these will translate into sustainable improvements unless they are coupled with incentives for providers.
Dr. Zachary Elkin is a 4th year medical student at NYU School of Medicine
Peer reviewed by Michael Simberkoff, MD, Infectious Diseases, NYU Langone Medical Center
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
1. Lu PJ, Euler GL, Harpaz R. Herpes zoster vaccination among adults aged 60 years and older, in the U.S., 2008. Am J Prev Med. 2011;40(2):e1-6. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21238856
2. Rimland D, Moanna A. Increasing incidence of herpes zoster among Veterans. Clin Infect Dis. 2010;50(7):1000-1005.
3. Tseng HF, Smith N, Harpaz R, Bialek SR, Sy LS, Jacobsen SJ. Herpes zoster vaccine in older adults and the risk of subsequent herpes zoster disease. JAMA. 2011;305(2):160-166.
4. Yawn BP, Saddier P, Wollan PC, St Sauver JL, Kurland MJ, Sy LS. A population-based study of the incidence and complication rates of herpes zoster before zoster vaccine introduction. Mayo Clin Proc. 2007;82(11):1341-1349.
5. Insinga RP, Itzler RF, Pellissier JM, Saddier P, Nikas AA. The incidence of herpes zoster in a United States administrative database. J Gen Intern Med. 2005;20(8):748-753.
6. Ghaznawi N, Virdi A, Dayan A, et al. Herpes zoster ophthalmicus: comparison of disease in patients 60 years and older versus younger than 60 years. Ophthalmology. 2011;118(11):2242-2250.
7. Yawn BP, Wollan PC, Kurland MJ, St Sauver JL, Saddier P. Herpes zoster recurrences more frequent than previously reported. Mayo Clin Proc. 2011;86(2):88-93.
8. Harpaz R, Ortega-Sanchez IR, Seward JF. Prevention of herpes zoster: recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). MMWR Recomm Rep. 2008;57(RR-5):1-30.
9. Harpaz R, Hales CM, Bialek SR. Update on herpes zoster vaccine: licensure for persons aged 50 through 59 years. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2011;60(44):1528. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22071592
10. Freed GL, Clark SJ, Cowan AE, Coleman MS. Primary care physician perspectives on providing adult vaccines. Vaccine. 2011;29(9):1850-1854.
11. Hurley LP, Lindley MC, Harpaz R, et al. Barriers to the use of herpes zoster vaccine. Ann Intern Med. 2010;152(9):555-560. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20439573
12. Opstelten W, van Essen GA, Hak E. Determinants of non-compliance with herpes zoster vaccination in the community-dwelling elderly. Vaccine. 2009;27(2):192-196.
13. Williams WW, Peng-Jun L, Singleton JA, etal. Adult vaccination coverage-United States, 2010. MMWR. 2012;61(04):66-72. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/su6102a11.htm
14. Williams WW, Peng-Jun L, Greby S, et al. Noninfluenza vaccination coverage among adults–United States, 2011. MMWR. 2013;62(04):66-72.
15. Elkin Z, Cohen E, Goldberg J, et al. Studying physician knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding the herpes zoster vaccine to address perceived barriers to vaccination. Cornea. 2013;32(7):976-981.
16. Oxman MN, Levin MJ, Johnson GR, et al; Shingles Prevention Study Group. A vaccine to prevent herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia in older adults. N Engl J Med. 2005;352(22):2271-2284. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15930418
17. Schmader KE, Levin MJ, Gnann JW, et al. Efficacy, safety, and tolerability of herpes zoster vaccine in persons aged 50-59 years. Clin Infect Dis. 2012;54(7):922-928.
18. Tseng HF, Chi M, Smith N, Marcy SM, Sy LS, Jacobsen SJ. Herpes zoster vaccine and the incidence of recurrent herpes zoster in an immunocompetent elderly population. J Infect Dis. 2012;206(2):190-196.
19. Gagliardi AM, Gomes Silva BN, Torloni MR, Soares BG. Vaccines for preventing herpes zoster in older adults. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2012;10:CD008858. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23076951
20. Schmader KE, Oxman MN, Levin MJ, et al. Persistence of the efficacy of zoster vaccine in the shingles prevention study and the short-term persistence substudy. Clin Infect Dis. 2012;55(10):1320-1328.
21. Orenstein WA, Mootrey GT, Pazol K, Hinman AR. Financing immunization of adults in the United States. Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2007;82(6):764-768.
22. Jung JJ, Elkin ZP, Li X, et al. Increasing use of the vaccine against zoster through recommendation and administration by ophthalmologists at a city hospital. Am J Ophthalmol. 2013;155(5):787-795. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/23394910/
23. Cabana MD, Rand CS, Powe NR, et al. Why don’t physicians follow clinical practice guidelines? A framework for improvement. JAMA. 1999;282(15):1458-1465.
24. Chaudhry R, Schietel SM, North F, Dejesus R, Kesman RL, Stroebel RJ. Improving rates of herpes zoster vaccination with a clinical decision support system in a primary care practice. J Eval Clin Pract. 2013;19(2):263-266. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22304668
25. Loo TS, Davis RB, Lipsitz LA, et al. Electronic medical record reminders and panel management to improve primary care of elderly patients. Arch Intern Med. 2011;171(17):1552-1558.
26. Thomas RE, Russell M, Lorenzetti D. Interventions to increase influenza vaccination rates of those 60 years and older in the community. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2010(9):CD005188.
27. Rhew DC, Glassman PA, Goetz MB. Improving pneumococcal vaccine rates. Nurse protocols versus clinical reminders. J Gen Intern Med. 1999;14(6):351-356. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10354255
28. Koch JA. Strategies to overcome barriers to pneumococcal vaccination in older adults: an integrative review. J Gerontol Nurs. 2012;38(2):31-39.
29. Lenfant C. Clinical research to clinical practice–lost in translation? New Engl J Med. 2003;349(9):868-874.