COVID-19 Update – May 5, 2020
N95 Decontamination, Contra Costa COVID-19 Review, CA Stage 2 Reopening
As of May 5, there are 1,809 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Alameda County and 66 deaths (including City of Berkeley information). As of May 5, there are 969 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Contra Costa County and 29 deaths. Please check
www.accma.org/COVID-19
for the latest updates.
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Battelle Critical Care Decontamination Systems
The State of California, in cooperation with federal partners, is offering Battelle Critical Care Decontamination Systems as a solution to the N95 shortages impacting California.
To participate in the program, complete and return the attached
service agreement
(an FDA requirement) to the Cal OES POC listed below. Per Cal OES, once the service agreement is received, a 3-digit Battelle code will be assigned to each EMS provider wanting to use the system. Specific details about the process can be found in the
Battelle Information Packet
attached.
Cal OES POC:
There are currently two active Battelle Decon System sites ready to receive PPE for decontamination, one of which is in the Bay Area.
Bay Area:
41320 Boyce Rd.
Fremont CA 94538
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Contra Costa County Releases COVID-19 90 Days in Review
Contra Costa County Health Services released an overview of the progression of the COVID-1 pandemic in Contra Costa county, "
COVID-19 90 Days in Review: Contra Costa County's Pandemic Response "
. The report highlights work that CCCHS has done to minimize the spread of COVID-19 in the county, as well as provide additional tools to continue slowing the spread of the virus.
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Governor Newsom Provides Update on California’s Progress Toward Stage 2 Reopening
Yesterday,
Governor Gavin Newsom announced
that, based on the California's progress in meeting metrics tied to indicators, the state can begin to move into Stage 2 of modifying the stay at home order this Friday, May 8, with guidelines released Thursday, May 7. The Governor released a Report Card showing how the state has made progress in fighting COVID-19 in a number of categories such as stabilized hospitalization, ICU numbers, and acquiring PPE.
Later this week, California will release revised public health guidance for certain Stage 2 sectors, including some retail, manufacturing, and logistics businesses. Revised guidelines will outline modifications to lower the risk of COVID-19 transmission. If businesses and retailers meet these revised guidelines, they will be eligible to reopen on Friday, May 8.
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Medicare Adopts Telephone Call Reimbursement Rule
Medicare issued another change to telehealth rules on April 30, 2020 with an interim final rule with comment period (IFC). The rule outlines changes to a number of issues including: 1) Advance practice providers ordering and furnishing diagnostic tests; 2) Hospital outpatient departments; and 3) Hospital based clinics billing an originating fee. However, the most significant change for physicians is the new rule regarding payment for Telephone Calls.
Medicare will now reimburse telephone calls (99441 - 99443) at the rate of an in-person office E/M service. Read more about the new rule in the
article
by Mary Jean Sage of The Sage Associates.
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Peer Coaching Support Available Through Care 4 Caregivers Now
Care 4 Caregivers Now is accepting applications from health care workers impacted by COVID-19 to receive professional and emotional support in a confidential and virtual setting.
California physicians (M.D. and D.O.), nurses and respiratory therapists providing emergency or intensive services to acutely ill COVID-19 patients can receive coaching sessions from trained peer wellness coaches, available at no cost for up to 30 days.
Sign up here
.
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Amwell Extends Fee Waiver Through June 2020
California Medical Association (CMA) Physician Services’ telehealth partner Amwell has extended its waiver on fees through June 2020 to help physicians transition to telehealth during the COVID-19 public health emergency. Amwell is also offering a discounted rate to all California physicians (regardless of their CMA membership status) on its Private Practice platform through March 31, 2021. Read more
here
.
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CDC Guides for Pediatric Healthcare Providers
The CDC has updated their
guidelines
for pediatric care and newborn care during the COVID-19 pandemic. CDC is encouraging practices to limit well child visits and prioritize newborn care and vaccination of infants and young children (through 24 months of age).
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CMA and CDPH Guidelines for Reopening CA Health Care System
Click here
for a comparison grid showing a side-by-side rundown of CMA’s guidelines for reopening the health care system in California vs. the guidelines released by the California Department of Public Health, as they pertain to physicians.
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CDC COVID-19 Resource Tool for Clinicians
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s "
Prepare to Care for COVID-19" is a resource clinicians can use to care for patients with COVID-19. This resource contains practical tools for treating COVID-19 patients and will be regularly updated to help clinicians adapt to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.
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ACCMA & CMA COVID-19 Resource Toolkits
The ACCMA has put together a
free toolkit of resources
that address the day-to-day needs of East Bay physicians of all career stages and in all modes of practice, from food and grocery delivery services to exercises that can be done at home.
Click here
to access and download the toolkit.
To help physicians understand the rapidly evolving personnel and other employment-related issues during the COVID-19 public health emergency, the California Medical Association has published the
CMA COVID-19 Toolkit for Physician Employers
. This resource is free to all and available on CMA’s COVID-19 resource page,
cmadocs.org/covid-19
.
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Intuit Aid Assist - Financial Assistance Resource
Intuit Aid Assist
is a free service that allows businesses, self-employed, contractors, and others to understand and access different business relief programs. Individuals and businesses can complete a loan eligibility assessment to see if they qualify for any federal funding programs.
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Tips for Physicians to Protect Themselves and Their Families During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Click here
for tips on what to do before going to work, at work, and after work/coming home to protect yourself and your family. Tips include how to create a hot zone (contaminated area) near your home entrance and how to take care of your skin. Courtesy of the TPMG Diablo Health and Wellness Team.
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May 8, 2020 | 12:15 - 1:15 PM
Presented by the California Medical Association
In this webinar, we will review how the COVID-19 public emergency has changed how we care for patients with opioid use disorder. The webinar will also review new state and federal flexibilities to help patients stay safe and access care. Presenters will share how physicians are adapting to the challenges of the epidemic in opioid treatment programs and office settings. We will also here how the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) has responded to the emergency to help transform the safety-net behavioral health treatment system from one predominantly dependent on in-person group visits to one that can deliver services by telephone and telehealth.
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May 12, 2020 | 12:15 - 1:15 PM
This webinar will build on CMA's telehealth webinar from March 26, 2020, focusing on the updated telehealth and privacy flexibilities granted by federal and state governments over the past four weeks. Presenters will discuss recent expansions of telehealth use, state and federal privacy waivers, and updates to telehealth billing guidelines.
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Available On-Demand
This one-hour, on-demand webinar led by Linda Hawes Clever, MD, MACP, offers practical, creative, and effective remedies to deal with the crush on personal and professional lives during the COVID-19 pandemic. It contains strategies, resources, and suggestions for handling physician wellness, as well as addressing questions and answers, as we listen and see the ingenuity, guts, and devotion with which we are addressing the harrowing challenges we all face as a profession, community, and nation. Discover how to reduce personal stress and learn healthy ways to contend with the impact of COVID-19.
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Available On-Demand
Telehealth services are expanding rapidly during the COVID-19 crisis. In partnership with Bay Area medical associations, the ACCMA teamed up with experts to develop a comprehensive webinar series to help physicians swiftly ramp up their telemedicine capabilities, from technology to practice implementation to coding. Experts discuss choosing a telemedicine platform; compliance; privacy and security considerations; billing and payment; policies, procedures, and workflow; informing your patients; and malpractice. Physicians who have experience practicing telemedicine share their practical reflections.
These on-demand webinars are available for
FREE
to all physicians. We would like to thank VSee, Global Health Impact Network, and the InnovatorMD Conference for donating their expertise and technical support to make this series possible.
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Questions/Concerns?
Please contact ACCMA at 510-654-5383 or
[email protected]
with any questions or concerns you have. Although we may not currently have an immediate answer to all questions, we want to know the information and resources that you need to continue to provide care for our community during this difficult time.
This information will also be posted online at
www.accma.org/COVID-19
and will be updated frequently. Please check the ACCMA website regularly for updates.
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