By Chris Ahl, Risk Manager at Medical Solutions
Yes, it is that time of year again. The official start of the flu season 2015 is fast approaching. As a Traveler, this impacts you in a couple of ways — in addition to seeing more sick patients with the flu.
First, you will need your flu vaccine for this season. It is Medical Solutions’ policy that each Traveler receive a flu vaccine. If you don’t already have a vaccine for this year, you can plan on needing one for your next assignment. We will also need documentation of the vaccine. This is also a requirement of Medical Solutions. Verbal confirmations are not allowed, so keep that paperwork.
If you want to decline the vaccine for medical or religious reasons, you must have the declination form signed by you PCP or clergy. These are the only acceptable reasons for declining the vaccine. We want to keep you safe and compliant with our policies and those of the hospitals you will be traveling to. Please communicate with your Career Consultant and we can help get you set up to receive the vaccine in a timely fashion to meet these requirements.
In the meantime, click here to view the CDC’s page on influenza. There is a lot of great information there, including a page dedicated to information for healthcare professionals.