COVID-19 Patients 65-74 Years Old, iMED Consent

Many of you have asked what you should be telling your patients who are 65-74 years of age and in Phases 1a and 1b eligibility groups about getting their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

In anticipation of opening our Inova COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic again for first dose appointments for select eligible groups, it is important to clarify with patients the process under which we are now operating.

In January, the Commonwealth of Virginia mandated that all vaccine supply in the state would be managed and distributed by local health districts, rather than coming directly to Inova and other health systems.
This change temporarily disrupted the vaccine supply and necessitated a new registration and appointment process.
Note that the process is different for patients in Fairfax County versus patients living in other Northern Virginia jurisdictions. See specifics below.

For ALL current eligible patient groups who are Fairfax County residents, you should direct your patients to sign up on the Fairfax County Health Department (FCHD) website. Eligible patients must register for their vaccine with FCHD. The same is true for patients in the rest of our service area in Northern Virginia. Eligible patients who reside or work in other counties, can sign up using https://vaccinate.virginia.gov/ or by calling 1-877-VAX-IN-VA (language translation and TTY services available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.). Patients in the 75+ age group will continue to be contacted by their Inova primary care office to schedule their vaccinations; however, no first dose vaccinations are being scheduled at this time.

Existing Inova patients should not attempt to sign up directly via MyChart. Even if your patients see appointments in MyChart, they should not directly schedule themselves for COVID-19 vaccine appointments using MyChart. Eligible patients must register for a COVID-19 vaccine with the Fairfax County Health Department or through Vaccinate Virginia. Either FCHD or Virginia will contact people on their lists in order of sign-up date and direct them to make an appointment. They will then be provided an appointment with Inova or another COVID-19 vaccination partner.

Patients must wait to be contacted by either FCHD or Vaccinate Virginia for scheduling. If patients schedule an appointment using Inova’s MyChart system and they are not instructed to do by the Fairfax County Health Department or Vaccinate Virginia, their appointment will be cancelled and they will not be able to receive a COVID-19 vaccine from Inova at that time.
Please do not send your patients directly to the Inova COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic with a prescription or for “extra doses” at the end of the day. COVID-19 vaccines are produced on demand and no doses are wasted.
Those who arrive without an appointment in Inova MyChart or who are not eligible will be turned away.

For more information, you can direct patients to Inova’s COVID-19 information page here, or the Virginia Health Department website.

Electronic consent with e-Sign is now available for use for Informed Consent across Inova, including all five hospitals, the Inova Schar Cancer Institute, Ambulatory locations and affiliated care sites. Retrieving the consent and using e-Sign is fairly straightforward. The tips sheets can be found on InovaNet* This information is also available in Epic.

Please familiarize yourself with this tool, because as of June 1, 2021, consents will be processed solely through iMED. Consents completed in iMED are available in Epic in a new, dedicated tab: Chart Review: Consents.

For help, please contact either Dr. Jennifer Rodriguez (physician leader) or Richard Brown (project lead). If you need a signature pad for your office, please contact Mariam Azam.

Demonstration Videos:
iMed Electronic Consent: Nursing
iMed Electronic Consent: Physicians
iMed Electronic Consent: How to Use Other People's Favorites

As we expand our COVID-19 vaccination clinic operations to other care sites, we will be discontinuing the shuttle transportation from the hospitals to the ICPH clinic location. The shuttles from Inova Loudoun, Inova Fair Oaks and Inova Mount Vernon Hospitals have already stopped operations. The last dates of operation for the other locations are:

Inova Alexandria Hospital – Feb. 28
Inova Fairfax Medical Campus – March 2

NOTE: Inova Fairfax Medical Campus has an existing shuttle that runs to and from ICPH and will resume pre-vaccination clinic hours of operation on March. 2.

We know some people are still hesitant to be vaccinated, whether due to health conditions, misinformation or general concerns about the unknowns of COVID-19. This week, Rushi Vyas, MD, Department of Psychiatry, shares why he decided to get vaccinated.

“Since March 2020 until now, I’ve watched friends, colleagues, family, and patients all suffering in various ways because of this pandemic. This vaccination was for you, Dr. Pellegrino, RIP. Because of the words you told us as medical students at our first white coat ceremony: ‘The most important trait for a physician is 'compassion'. From the Latin 'com' (together) + patior (to endure, to suffer).’

We listen to our patients, and we endure together. We suffer together.... And just maybe, we can find a way to reduce their burdens. Their suffering.

This is my compassion. My choice. That's why I choose to get the shot.”

We welcome you to share your “why” with us for potential inclusion in our weekly huddle message. If you’re interested in sharing, please send an email to tracy.connell@inova.org with the Subject: Why I Got My Shot and tell us why you decided to be vaccinated.