DOUGLASSVILLE INternal Medicine

New useful smartphrases: 

.measlesvacc - represents current CDC/Department of Health recommendations

.activelabs - will pull forward active lab orders that have been placed within an encounter in the previous 12 months

Measles Guidance from Primary Care Service Line

As previously discussed at our service line and emails regarding measles outbreak and recommendations, while we have talked about identifying the rash and diagnosing a potential case, the best thing we can do for our patients is to get them vaccinated. Some with vaccine hesitancy are more likely to get vaccinated when there is an active outbreak.

For those with Medicare insurance plans (Part D), vaccination should be performed at the pharmacy versus in office.

This link will take you the PA measles outbreak dashboard that is updated regularly: Measles | Department of Health | Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

Healthcare providers should not accept verbal reports of vaccination without written documentation as presumptive evidence of immunity.

Presumptive evidence of immunity can be established in any of the following ways:

4. • Written documentation of adequate vaccines for measles, mumps, and rubella

   • Laboratory evidence of immunity 

   • Laboratory confirmation of disease

   • Birth before 1957

Our county is considered to have an outbreak and below are PA dept of health recommendations 2026-831-06-24-ALT-Measles_Early MMR.pdf

• During outbreaks, early, accelerated and catch-up vaccination is encouraged for people who live or plan to visit areas where measles is detected:

• Infants 6 through 11 months should get one early dose of measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine. They should still receive their routine doses at 12–15 months and 4–6 years.

• Children older than 1 year who have not yet received any measles vaccine should get two doses at least 28 days apart.

• Children who already received one dose should get their second dose now if it has been at least 28 days since their first dose.

• Adults with no evidence of immunity should get two MMR doses at least 28 days apart. Adults and teens who already received one dose should get a second dose at least 28 days after their first dose.