Happy Friday! Enjoy your NCMS Morning Rounds.

Feb. 26, 2021

Get the Latest State Update on the COVID-19 Vaccine

Mark your calendar for Tuesday, March 2 from 6 to 7 p.m. for an update on new COVID-19 vaccines and the status of vaccine distribution from State Health Director Betsey Tilson, MD, MPH. During this webinar, Dr. Tilson and other leaders from the NC Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) will address vaccine allocation, provider enrollment, prioritization and the COVID-19 Vaccine Management System (CVMS) as well as answer questions.

Connect at this Zoom link (https://zoom.us/j/131899801#success) or dial in at (646) 558-8656 and use webinar ID 131 899 801.

NC*Notify Helps Access COVID-19 Lab Results

NC HealthConnex, the state’s Health Information Exchange, recently announced that new notification features are available for current NC HealthConnex subscribers. COVID-19 lab result alerts are now accessible, allowing clinicians to react in more timely manner to positive cases.

NC*Notify is a subscription-based service that notifies you when your patients receive services across the care continuum. The information is based on admission, discharge and transfer data received from more than 100 participating hospitals plus encounter data from more than 6,000 ambulatory care settings. The real-time event notifications provide care teams with valuable information that spans geographic and care settings and supports efforts to focus on patient-centered care.

In addition to COVID-19 notifications, some of the other new alerts include:
• High utilizer alert, which will help you identify frequent visitors to the emergency department or patients who are high risk for readmission.
• Dental alerts for patients using the emergency department for dental care.
• Care team change alert will inform you when a new organization has subscribed to your patient.
• Diabetes diagnoses alert when a patient you are monitoring receives a new diabetes and/or pre-diabetes diagnosis.
• Chronic care management alert when a patient meets the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Chronic Care Management services criteria.

To learn more about the new features on NC*Notify and learn more about NC HealthConnex visit the website here.

Consider an NCMS/NCMSF Leadership Position

Nominations to serve on the NCMS Board of Directors, AMA delegation, Nominating and Leadership Development Committee as well as the NCMS Foundation (NCMSF) Board of Trustees are now being accepted for the coming year. Read on to learn more about the positions and if you or someone you know would be a good candidate.

The NCMSF, the philanthropic arm of the NCMS, seeks to improve access to quality health care for all North Carolinians. The Foundation’s portfolio of programs demonstrates our commitment to this vision. Learn more about each of these programs here.

A full description of what is expected of members of the NCMSF Board of Trustees along with details on the nomination process are outlined in this document. Nominations are due by Aug. 30, 2021.

The NCMS’ Nominating and Leadership Development Committee is seeking nominations for individuals to serve on the NCMS Board of Directors, NC American Medical Association (AMA) Delegation and on the Nominating and Leadership Development Committee itself. Nominations are due by May 17, 2021.

An overview of each of the roles on the NCMS Board of Directors, AMA delegation and Nominating and Leadership Development Committee along with details on the nomination process are included in this document.

In the News

Schools May See A Burst Of The Common Cold When They Reopen, Research Suggests, STAT News, 2-23-21

Learning Opportunity

Please join the Region IV Public Health Training Center on Monday, March 1 at noon for a live webinar on ‘Racism, Bias and Other Determinants of Health: Issues and Actions.’ Learn more and register here.

If you have policies you’d like your NCMS Board of Directors to consider, please complete the Board input form here. Thanks for reading!