Pediatric Medical Associates: Increasing Vaccine Profits While Improving Care

As at most pediatric offices, vaccinations are an essential aspect of patient care for Dr. Steven A. Shapiro of Pediatric Medical Associates in East Norriton, PA. Before joining VaxCare, Dr. Shapiro felt his vaccine program was delivering returns within the typical range of 17–25% estimated for most pediatric practices but suspected that overhead costs—both in time and capital—were eating into those profits. And even after making the sizable investment required to keep his refrigerators stocked, he was often disappointed to find that he still didn’t have
all the vaccines he needed on-hand.

Eliminating Gaps in Care

The way Dr. Shapiro sees it, each gap in vaccine inventory represents a potential gap in patient care. With VaxCare, he can count on having seamless access to every vaccine he needs at all times. Since signing on with VaxCare in 2010, inventory is replenished regularly, and spoiled doses—or doses lost due to emergency power outages or other issues—are replaced quickly with a call to Customer Care.

“I give shots,” pediatrician Dr. Shapiro says. “That’s a huge part of caring for my patients. I became a customer of VaxCare early on because I believed in their business model—that it would make sure I had the vaccines I need to protect these children and be good for us financially.”

Support for Staff

Along with fully stocking the practice’s vaccine fridges at no cost, VaxCare’s system took over Pediatric Medical Associates’ vaccine billing—usually a time-consuming, manual job for practice staff—automatically ensuring their patients’ eligibility and handling any adjudication if issues arose. VaxCare also ensured up-to-date reimbursement for every dose, as the system tracks changes in vaccine product and administration fees.

“VaxCare actually catches things our EMR doesn’t—like if the letters at the beginning of an insurance ID have changed, VaxCare sees it and updates our system to help with billing,” says Heather Cohen, receptionist and VaxCare coordinator. “On top of that, if a patient doesn’t have insurance listed, VaxCare will go out and find that family’s new insurance and make sure we’re paid.”

The Results

After 11 years as a VaxCare partner, Dr. Shapiro firmly believes in VaxCare’s ability to deliver on our promise of less work for his staff and higher profits for his vaccine program. After Dr. Shapiro ran a quantitative analysis of Pediatric Medical Associates’ vaccine data in 2019, he was happy to report a 31.4% profit margin on vaccines—and his overhead costs had all but disappeared. Most importantly, VaxCare improved care for Dr. Shapiro’s pediatric patients.

“What we’re getting from VaxCare is the opportunity to never miss an opportunity,” Dr. Shapiro says. “The ability to fully vaccinate children and young adults, while also making a profit above the projected ranges is fantastic. What could be better than having no overhead, a constant supply of vaccines, and good reimbursement?”

Download Pediatric Medical Associates’ case study PDF here.