Medical records serve as a basis for planning patient care and promoting communication. The records furnish documentary evidence of a patient's care and treatment and serve as a basis for review, study and evaluation. There is no prescribed system of record keeping, but it should be done meticulously and methodically. It is recommended that individuals administering vaccines record the following information in the permanent medical record of the patient: date the vaccine was administered, name of the person administering the vaccine, vaccine lot number or serial number, expiration date of the vaccine, name of the vaccine, vaccine manufacturer, and site of vaccine administration. The use of peel-off vaccine labels facilitates this type of record keeping and the panel encourages all vaccine manufacturers to utilize peel-off labels. Serological test results for vaccine-preventable diseases, as well as documented episodes of adverse events, also should be recorded in the permanent medical record of the patient.