Welcome back to a new work week. Enjoy your  NCMS Morning Rounds.

  May 26, 2020

Update Call on Testing Guidance

Last week the NCMS helped host a call with NC Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy Cohen, MD, MPH and state Health Director Betsey Tilson, MD, MPH along with other NCDHHS area experts to make sure everyone is aware of the latest guidance on COVID-19 testing.

The new guidance, issued on May 15 and available to review on the NCMS COVID-19 webpage, advises clinicians to conduct or arrange for diagnostic testing for any patient in whom COVID-19 is suspected. The guidance also instructs practices to consider sample collection strategies that preserve PPE if possible, such as having a dedicated team, practice site, or testing center that performs sample collections. As new testing sites and modalities are available, the guidance seeks to ensure testing for anyone in close contact with someone who has tested positive.

Sec. Cohen also stressed that regardless of symptoms, anyone who falls in a high risk category (e.g. those who live or have regular contact with those in high-risk settings such as nursing homes; those at risk of serious illness; those from historically marginalized populations; health care workers and first responders and frontline and essential workers like grocery store attendants) should be tested.

Included in the call was an overview of the current testing modalities including the latest on antibody testing; an outline of how the state is reaching out to historically marginalized populations and a summary of the toolkit for long-term care facilities.

Access the slides from the presentation here.

Some of the same information will be covered TODAY, Tuesday, May 26 in the NCMS Foundation’s Lunch & Learn webinar at noon. Director of the North Carolina State Laboratory of Public Health Scott Shone, PhD, HCLD(ABB) and State Epidemiologist Zack Moore, MD, MPH, will discuss ‘Covid-19: Epidemiological & Laboratory Approaches.’ Learn more and register here.

NCMB Answers Supervision Questions During COVID-19

The North Carolina Medical Board (NCMB) has created a ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ page on its website to clarify any questions around supervision during this time of upheaval for many practices.

Several of the questions address reassignment of PAs and resulting supervision arrangements necessary. Another details the requirements for out of state clinicians who may be volunteering in the state.

If you have questions or need clarification on this topic, access the FAQ page here.

Award Nominations for Diabetes Prevention and Management

The North Carolina Diabetes Advisory Council (DAC) will be accepting nominations for the 2020 DAC Awards and applications for the new Diabetes Educator Scholarship from June 12-July 31, 2020 so start considering colleagues who may be deserving recipients of the recognition.

The awards recognize those who have demonstrated exemplary work in diabetes prevention and management including, but not limited to, employers, caregivers, educators, faith communities, health care providers and pharmacists.

Award recipients will be announced in September and awards will be presented at the Nov. 13, 2020 DAC Meeting in Raleigh. Do not miss the opportunity to recognize your diabetes hero or to be selected as an outstanding diabetes educator.

Learn more about the awards and download a nomination form here.

In the News

The World Needs COVID-19 Vaccines. It May Also Be Overestimating Their Power, STAT, 5-22-20

Patients Steadily Return to In-Person Primary Care as Telehealth Plateaus, Healthcare Dive, 5-21-20

Learning Opportunity

The next webinar in the COVID-19 Conversations series by the American Public Health Association and the National Academy of Medicine, will be: ‘Summer of COVID-19 – Mitigating Direct and Indirect Impacts in the Coming Months.’ Public health, infectious disease and risk communication experts will explore the state of the science surrounding the current outbreak of COVID-19 in the United States and globally, with a focus on the emerging evidence on how to best mitigate its impact. Tune in tomorrow, Wednesday, May 27, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Learn more and access the archived webinars 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!