Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Enjoy your NCMS Morning Rounds!
March 17, 2020
Keeping up with Covid-19: Special Message from NCDHHS for Primary Care Providers
The NC Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) recognizes that many primary care and outpatient clinics may be feeling overwhelmed with the vast amount of nearly hourly news about Covid-19 and are looking for easy access to practical information as they are on the frontlines of patient care. Yesterday NCDHHS sent a message to providers with links to topics that are of most interest at the moment. Here is that message:
“As you are aware, there has been a rapid increase in COVID-19 infections across the country and we have begun to see cases in North Carolina over the past two weeks. In partnership with our providers and our local health departments, we have been doing intensive containment strategies for the first phase of our response. This includes proactive identification of cases, isolation of sick patients, and contact tracing and quarantine of exposed people.
All cases confirmed in the state thus far have been in persons who have traveled outside the state or had contact with a known or suspected case during the incubation period. However, we expect that community transmission is occurring in our state and so North Carolina has implemented several proactive community mitigation measures to complement our containment strategies and reduce opportunities for transmission and “flatten the curve”. Increasing access to testing for individuals is important in this stage to help with our containment strategies, to understand better the spread of infection in North Carolina, and to inform our mitigation strategies.
We know that providers need help in understanding how to facilitate testing and caring for their patients. The NCDHHS is committed to providing updated information and guidance to help North Carolina clinicians respond effectively to the COVID-19 pandemic. To that end, please find attached three documents:
- Guidance for COVID-19 assessment in outpatient settings;
2. Interim guidance for use of personal protective equipment; and
3. Interim guidance for discontinuation of home isolation for persons with COVID-19.
All primary care providers have a role to play in assessing patients with COVID-19 concerns. We hope that these documents will help you better serve your patients, including understanding how to access testing for those who need it.
Additional guidance for health care providers and other groups is available at www.ncdhhs.gov. This is a rapidly evolving situation and guidance will change as we continue to learn more. We will continue to disseminate guidance but we encourage you to check the website for the latest guidance.”
The NCMS also wants to help provide the information you need in an easily accessible format. To that end, we have compiled a list of links with guidance from the NCDHHS and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on testing guidance, personal protective equipment, reimbursement and telehealth and other topics on our Covid-19 webpage. Access it here.
NCDHHS and NC AHEC will again have a Provider Forum this Friday from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. to answer your questions directly. Please submit your questions by 5 p.m. on Wednesday to [email protected]). Access the forum through your computer at https://zoom.us/j/705979628. Or you can dial-in for audio-only, by calling 1-646-558-8656 and entering the conference ID: 705979628#. Last week, the subject matter expert on the call did answer some questions that came in live.
Remember: The most timely and credible information is available at the
• NC Department of Health and Human Services Covid-19 website
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website
• For immediate questions/concerns from members of the public, please call 866-462-3821.
• For non-urgent health care provider questions, please email [email protected].
• For urgent provider or local health department questions, please call 919-733-3419 (available 24/7). Please do NOT give this number to patients and members of the public.
A huge THANK YOU to the many health care professionals who are responding with care and compassion during this historic, rapidly evolving and stressful situation.
Reimbursement In Response to Covid-19
We’ve been hearing concerns about reimbursement for telehealth, testing and other issues arising from Covid-19. For NCMS member practices, the NCMS Plan has signed an amendment with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of NC covering COVID-19 testing.
Below is information from each of the major commercial insurance companies in the state and what they have provided thus far to their physicians and PAs.
Aetna
• Guidance on telehealth
• General clinical updates
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of NC
• Telehealth policy
Cigna
• Testing reimbursement
• Telehealth update
Humana
• Message for clinicians with resource links
• Telehealth guidance
United Healthcare
• General guidance
• Telehealth guidance (This is updated guidance from United Healthcare as of Tuesday, March 17.)
Status of NCMS and Specialty Society Meetings
As state and federal government are requiring social distancing, the NCMS and our specialty societies are holding virtual meetings via conference call, postponing gatherings to a later date, or canceling when there is no other option. Below is a reminder of the status of our upcoming meetings:
March 18 – NCMS Communications Committee – CONFERENCE CALL
March 19 – Appalachian Regional Health System – Session II, Boone, NC – POSTPONED
March 20 – NCMSF Board of Trustees Meeting, Charlotte, NC – CONFERENCE CALL
March 20-21 – NCMS Board of Directors Meeting, Charlotte, NC – CONFERENCE CALL
March 21 – 1849 Society Dinner, Charlotte, NC – POSTPONED
March 24 – NCMS Advocacy Hill Visits, Washington, DC – CANCELED
March 28 – NCMS Ethical & Judicial Affairs Committee – CONFERENCE CALL
April 3-5 – NCOGS Society Annual Meeting, Kiawah, SC – CANCELED
April 15 – NCMS Legislative Cabinet Meeting, Raleigh, NC – VIDEO CALL
April 17-19 – NC Asthma Allergy and Immunology Annual Meeting, Wrightsville Beach, NC – CANCELED
April 21 – NCMS Finance Committee – CONFERENCE CALL
April 22 – NCMSF Finance Committee – CONFERENCE CALL
April 24-25 – NC Society of Pathologists Annual Meeting, Charlotte, NC – CANCELED
May 7-8 – Maternal and Infant Health Summit, Cary, NC – POSTPONED
In the News
20 leading economists just signed a letter arguing Medicare for All would generate massive savings for American families, Business Insider, 3-10-20
Learning Opportunity
Hand hygiene is key in combatting Covid-19. Brush up on your hand washing technique with these videos:
This thorough New England Journal of Medicine video on hand hygiene is excellent and pretty technical. It’s 14 minutes long.
For patients, this National Health Service hand hygiene video has no words, just a great demo and lasts just 44 second.