Halfway through the week! Enjoy Wednesday’s
NCMS Morning Rounds.
May 20, 2020
Get the Latest on COVID-19 Response Tomorrow Evening
The NCMS is working with the NC Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS), NC AHEC and Community Care of North Carolina to provide the information and resources you need to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Tomorrow evening, NCDHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen, MD, MPH, and State Health Director Betsey Tilson, MD, MPH along with subject area experts will be on hand to address issues including new options for telephonic and telehealth delivery of care, changes in testing recommendations, an overview of the testing modalities and a discussion on how NC DHHS is working with community partners to reach high priority populations.
Tune in tomorrow, Thursday, May 21 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. by registering now at this link.
ALERT: Advisory on COVID-19 Related Syndrome in Children
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the NC Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) have issued a Health Advisory for Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) Associated with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). The CDC also hosted a call with clinicians yesterday on this advisory and how you can recognize the symptoms of MIS-C. You can review the presentation slides and download the transcript here.
• Read the CDC’s advisory here.
• Read the NCDHHS advisory, with reporting information, here.
The specific features of this inflammatory syndrome are still being determined, but reports include features of Toxic Shock Syndrome and/or Kawasaki Disease. Additional reported features include laboratory evidence of inflammation and single or multi-organ dysfunction.
NCDHHS is requesting voluntary reporting of cases of this syndrome to the Communicable Disease Branch epidemiologist on call. Please use the patient summary form on page three of this memo and submit to the Communicable Disease Branch via secure fax at 919-733-0490 to the attention of “MIS-C surveillance.” If you have questions, please contact the Communicable Disease Branch epidemiologist hT
Additional Info on CARES Act Provider Relief Fund
To answer some of the questions physician practices have had about the CARES Act Provider Relief Fund, and to clarify the formulas used to figure what a practice might be entitled to receive from the fund, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has published an updated list of FAQs.
The AMA reported receiving multiple inquiries from physicians who believed they may have received more money from this fund than they were supposed to and were worried the money will be recouped by HHS. Last week, HHS has removed the previous formulas and unclear language about overpayments that were causing the concerns from the website.
Here are the updated FAQs on the Provider Relief Fund General Distribution Portal.
The AMA also has received questions regarding what HHS views as the appropriate use of the CARES Act funds, but no additional guidance beyond what is currently on the Provider Relief Fund website has been provided. The AMA advises that each practice be able to clearly document the revenue losses and expenses it is incurring that are directly due to COVID-19. This could include losses related to social distancing (such as cancellation of visits and procedures, Part B drugs that have passed their expiration date), costs of new infection control practices, PPE, digital health equipment, etc., and that are not reimbursable from other sources (excluding loans that have to be repaid).
In the News
Is 99.5 Degrees a Fever? It’s a Surprisingly Tricky Question – With Big Implications for Coronavirus Response, The Advisory Board Forum, 5-18-20
Learning Opportunity
Join the University of North Carolina Center for Health Equity Research TODAY, Wednesday, May 20 at 1 p.m. for the next edition in its webinar series: “Community Resilience & Healing during COVID-19.” The national experts who are today’s guest speakers will share from their work on how to understand the factors that promote community resilience during COVID-19 and lessons learned about community healing in past traumas. Learn more and register here.
The NCMS Morning Rounds newsletter is published each weekday to provide our physician and PA members with information and resources to help you improve the health of North Carolinians. If you have feedback on how we can do better or information you’d like to see included, please simply reply to this email. If you have policies you’d like your NCMS Board of Directors to consider, please complete the Board input form here. Thanks for reading!