Current Coronavirus News and Information
Thousands of US medical workers furloughed, laid off as routine patient visits drop during coronavirus pandemic
USA Today
As routine patient visits decline amid stay-at-home orders, thousands of health care professionals lack work.
The workers range from dentists and general surgeons to medical assistants and nurses, from allergists and dermatologists to primary care physicians and pediatricians.
By June, an estimated 60,000 family practices will close or significantly scale back, and 800,000 of their employees will be laid off, furloughed or have their hours reduced as they see a decline in business during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a HealthLandscape and American Academy of Family Physicians report released Thursday.
Continue reading this story on USA Today by clicking here.
'I Do Fear for My Staff,’ a Doctor Said. He Lost His Job. Health care professionals are being punished for protecting themselves, and us.
New York Times
Doctors and nurses responding to the Covid-19 pandemic are the superheroes of our age, putting themselves at risk to save the lives of others.
In Bellingham, Wash., an E.R. doctor, Ming Lin, pleaded on social media for better protections for patients and the staff at PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center, where he had worked for 17 years.
“I do fear for my staff,” Dr. Lin warned. “Morally, I think when you see something wrong, you have to speak out.”
The hospital responded by terminating Dr. Lin.
Dr. Lin speaks out in this article by the New York Times.
Montgomery received 5,000 rotted masks from national stockpile
Alabama Daily News
More than 5,000 medical masks that Montgomery County received from the national stockpile were rotted, the local emergency management director said Thursday.
Christi Thornton, the city/county emergency management director, said the 5,880 procedure masks received last week were unusable because of dry rot. The masks had a 2010 expiration date, according to the city’s response to a survey by the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
ADN has all the details on its website.
Quick Resources
ADPH Updates:
General Hotline: 1-800-270-7268
Testing Hotline: 1-888-264-2256
AL Pharmacy Updates:
COVID Maps & Data:
Telehealth Guidance & Webinar
Guidance Document: The Medical Association reached out to Kim Huey, a coding expert who provides guidance to many Alabama physicians, to help us navigate the most recent updates within coding and telehealth. The most important thing to remember is that payers have differing definitions of what they consider telehealth. Be sure to check with the applicable insurer for the most up-to-date information affecting requirements for coding and billing of telehealth services.
Resources tailored to your setting
Specialty Physicians
- Coronavirus Toolkit for Managing Your Independent Primary Care Practice
- ACOG Practice Advisory: Novel Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19)
- ACEP PPE Updates – What You Need to Know
- Information for Pediatric Providers
- Coronavirus: Relief for Behavioral Health Providers in Agency Waivers
- Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) Requirements and Implications Related to Coronavirus Disease 2019
Clinical Care
- Interim Clinical Guidance for Management of Patients with Confirmed Coronavirus Infection
- Guidance for Infection Control Prevention: FAQs for Patient Triage, Placement and Hospital Discharge
- Strategies to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19 in Long-Term Care Facilities
- What Health Care Personnel Should Know about Caring for Patients with Confirmed or Possible Infection
- Preparedness Checklist for Transport and Arrival of Patients With Confirmed or Possible COVID-19
Practice Materials
- Steps Health Care Facilities Can Take Now to Prepare for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
- Get Your Clinic Ready for Coronavirus (COVID-19)
- Physician Practices and COVID-19: Five Things You Need to Do Now
- CDC: Strategies for Optimizing the Supply of PPE
- AMA CPT COVID-19 Codes and Descriptions for Testing
- How to avoid COVID-19 infection at work: tips from an infectious disease physician
COVID-19 News
Stay Up to Date on All Things Coronavirus
- Ivey waives certain regulations for health care professionals, releases some probation and parole violators, makes other updates to State Health Order
- As COVID-19 cases increase, medical staffing shortages a concern
- Alabama reports first coronavirus death as cases near 400
- First death from COVID-19 reported in Alabama
- 60 COVID-19 patients hospitalized at UAB, more than half on ventilators
- Birmingham woman shares update during Coronavirus recovery at UAB
- Alabama Hospital Association CEO talks COVID-19 impact on health care
- Ivey: No shelter-in-place order needed for state right now
- ADPH establishes statewide hotline and direct e-mail for COVID-19 information
- Anonymous donor gives 100,000 pieces of protective medical equipment to Alabama health care
- State health officer says some Alabama hospitals are nearing capacity
- Birmingham City Council to vote on “Stay At Home” ordinance amid COVID-19 crisis
- State Health Officer issues mandatory health orders due to risks caused by COVID-19
- Huntsville Hospital setting up drive-through site for COVID-19 testing
- UAB infectious disease expert tests positive for COVID-19
- Supplemental State of Emergency: Coronavirus COVID-19
- 4 reasons Alabama lags behind on coronavirus testing
- State Health Officer issues mandatory health orders for five counties surrounding Jefferson County due to risks caused by COVID-19
- First COVID-19 case confirmed in Madison County
- ADPH offers new recommendations regarding public gatherings in response to COVID-19
- Declaration of a State of Emergency: Coronavirus (COVID-19)
- New York Times: Coronavirus Live Updates
- ‘I Do Fear for My Staff,’ a Doctor Said. He Lost His Job.
- Thousands of US medical workers furloughed, laid off as routine patient visits drop during coronavirus pandemic
- More than 3 million file U.S. unemployment claims, the most ever in a week
- Clinicians Struggle With PPE Shortages
- Martha Roby: COVID-19 Update
- Top Pentagon officials estimate coronavirus crisis could last months
- Physicians may no longer need a new license to cross state lines
- DEA Okays Telehealth to Prescribe Opioids Amid COVID-19 Emergency
- American Hospital Capacity And Projected Need for COVID-19 Patient Care
- FAQs on Shortages of Surgical Masks and Gowns
- Novel Coronavirus and Old Lessons — Preparing the Health System for the Pandemic
- Critical Supply Shortages — The Need for Ventilators and Personal Protective Equipment during the Covid-19 Pandemic
- The Toughest Triage — Allocating Ventilators in a Pandemic
- FDA: Investigational COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma – Emergency INDs
- Here’s How Many People Have the Coronavirus in Your State
- Study suggests new coronavirus may remain on surfaces for days
- No Evidence Found for SARS-CoV-2 Vertical Transmission to Fetus
- Covid-19: ibuprofen should not be used for managing symptoms, say doctors and scientists
- FDA to Study Hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19
- COVID-19 in a Long-Term Care Facility
- Severe Outcomes Among Patients with Coronavirus Disease (03/19/20)
- Estimating clinical severity of COVID-19 from transmission dynamics in Wuhan, China (03/19/20)
- Covid-19 — The Search for Effective Therapy (03/18/20)
- A Trial of Lopinavir–Ritonavir in Adults Hospitalized with Severe Covid-19 (03/18/20)
- From Containment to Mitigation of COVID-19 in the US (03/13/20)
- Supporting the Health Care Workforce During the COVID-19 Global Epidemic (03/12/20)
- Priorities for the US Health Community Responding to COVID-19 (03/03/20)
- US Emergency Legal Responses to Novel Coronavirus (02/13/20)
- Coronavirus Infections—More Than Just the Common Cold (01/23/20)
- 1819: AL Senate Candidates Discuss the Coronavirus and the $2 Trillion Stimulus Bill
- Senate Approves $2 Trillion Stimulus After Bipartisan Deal
- FDA will allow doctors to treat critically ill coronavirus patients with blood from survivors
- CMS approves Medicaid waivers for 11 states in response to COVID-19 crisis
- Revised Families First Coronavirus Response Act Becomes Law — Five Things Healthcare Providers Need to Know
- White House, Congress agree on $2 trillion virus rescue bill
- Executive Order on Prioritizing and Allocating Health and Medical Resources
- Sewell updates public on efforts to fight virus
- Lawmakers may add surprise billing plan to virus response bill
- Private Health Coverage of COVID-19: Key Facts and Issues
- State Data and Policy Actions to Address Coronavirus (Kaiser Family Foundation)
- Senate passes House coronavirus relief package with no changes
- White House proposes $1 trillion coronavirus stimulus package
- Doctors will die. My friends will die.
- We are not expendable. We are not replaceable.
- America’s Hospitals Have Never Experienced Anything Like This
- Strong, Determined: Portraits of COVID-19 Healthcare Workers
- A Medical Worker Describes Terrifying Lung Failure From COVID-19 — Even in His Young Patients
- I Thought COVID-19 Was Overblown. I Was Wrong.
- 4 Ways you havent thought about using telehealth during covid-19 pandemic
- I’m a mom, a daughter and a doctor – here’s how my family is preparing for the days ahead
- How The Novel Coronavirus And The Flu Are Alike … And Different
- It’s scary as hell to be a doctor right now
- The Healthiest Way to Sweat Out a Pandemic
- How Parents Can Keep Kids Busy (and Learning) in Quarantine
- How You Should Get Food During the Pandemic
- The Dos and Don’ts of ‘Social Distancing’
- In public health emergency, agencies make plans for vulnerable populations
- Covid-19 — The Law and Limits of Quarantine
- Coronavirus Puts a Spotlight on Paid Leave Policies
- 7 things to do instead of hoarding toilet paper
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