Key Provisions Affecting Medical Groups in the “Cares” Act
“Cares” Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act
On March 27, 2020, the House of Representatives passed the third stimulus bill (the “CARES” Act). Since both chambers of Congress voted to pass the bill, it now goes to President Trump’s desk to get signed into law. The CARES Act provides $2 trillion in economic stimulus and financial assistance to address the COVID-19 public health emergency and includes several provisions significant to medical groups. View the entire article.
Pandemic Fall Out 3/26/2020
On March 24th, MGMA presented a discussion with office managers in Washington State that are in the thick of COVID-19.
Their discussion could help you prepare for the fallout of pandemic on your office. They offer possible solutions and what they have learned.
Need Sanitizer? Soap?
I received an email today from a former contact in technology. I wanted to pass his company’s offer on to anyone interested.
“Fresh and Beautiful Cosmetics, is a global company https://www.freshbeautifulcosmetics.com/ based outside of Nashville, TN. Our leadership team has a long history in healthcare and PE funded companies so we understand the challenges healthcare organizations are having at this moment for basic supplies.
We have traditionally supplied products to major cosmetic firms. In an effort to support the US Healthcare delivery system, our CEO has asked the management team to retrofit our facility to produce hand sanitizer and soap. We are currently taking orders from healthcare organizations exclusively to be sold at manufacturers pricing. We are committed to run 24X7 shifts if necessary.
Be advised, raw materials and components are 15 – 30 days out. Healthcare organizations can secure time in our facility designated for them. We are taking orders ranging from $10K to $2M.
Our 73,000 sq. ft. facility is located in La Vergne, TN and we would like to help. We are committed to run 24X7 shifts if necessary. It is vital for these organizations to secure spots as we are building out production time.
We are asking all of our friends and colleagues to spread the word. If anyone is interested, please pass them my contact info. I will call you soon regardless.”
David Reimer – Director of Technology Innovation freshbeautifulcosmetics.com
615.619.9955 484.256.8574, cell
Do you have questions?
During this time I know there is a lot of information coming from all different directions. We are monitoring several resources to be able to provide you with information.
We know the answers are not always clear. If you have questions or need clarification, please ask.
The question we are working on at this time is about telemedicine and telehealth.
I am on the MGMA community and there are lots of questions and answers regarding the situation at hand. We will do our best to answer your questions by providing documentation.
We do not want to add to the onslaught of reading that needs to be done. This is why we have highlighted some documents provided on here.
My concern is you may need to refer to these documents later to get paid.
We are here to help.
MGMA Telemedicine and Telehealth Tool Kit
MGMA has released a tool kit for telemedicine and telehealth for COVID-19.
You can find the tool kit under the COVID-19 tag.
POET appreciates Catalyst Health Network sharing the following information:
| CARE ALERT 8: March 19, 2020 |
| Catalyst Community, Today’s content will be brief, containing updates and focusing on the resources coming out of today’s Webinar 5 on business continuity and implementing Telehealth in your practice. |
| IN TODAY’S CARE ALERT: Governor Abbott’s closure announcement Questions from today’s Webinar 5 – Telehealth Visit Reimbursement and Billing Guidelines |
| NEXT ZOOM WEBINAR: TUESDAY 24TH 12 – 1 PM |
| Same place, same time! Topics will be released at a later date. |
We are recording ALL Catalyst hosted COVID-19 Webinars! You can access today’s Webinar 5 covering business continuity & implementing Telehealth HERE. |
Click Here for NEW COVID-19 Care Alert #8
| CARE ALERT 8: March 19, 2020 |
Tips to Prepare Your Office for Coronavirus.
Power Point provided by the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP)
Add another code to your coronavirus testing list.
AMA drops CPT Assistant fact sheet on new COVID-19 code
Effective March 13, you can turn to the following code:
- 87635 (Infectious agent detection by nucleic acid [DNA or RNA];severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 [SARS-CoV-2] [Coronavirus disease (COVID-19)],amplified probe technique)
Telehealth work flow – ideas from others
POET will showcase ideas on Telehealth work flow as we find them. Be sure and check the comments for new ideas or add your own ideas!
Resource MGMA community
Does anyone have a tested and working workflow for telemed? Something like the following?
1. Review appointment list for appropriate diagnosis and problems to perform telemed
2. Reminder call to patient includes survey to see if they would qualify for telemed visit
3. If video capable, Send patients instructions to install app to phone and request confirmation via email that they have received the invite
4. If not video capable, review if patient is appropriate for televisit only
5. When appointment arrives, staff person pulls up video conf on designated laptop or pc and does initial intake of questions for the physician
6. when completed patient waits for physician to enter the room
7. physician performs video visit and documents in the record.
Another MGMA community resource. From an office manager in Ohio. Zoom (a meetings and workplace app) for example is very easy to use but it is not on the list suggested by CMS The problem with Skype and Messenger is that they generally require setting up user specific accounts on both ends. My test run with Zoom was simple and we just sent the meeting link to the phone or to the email of the test recipient. Other opinions would be welcome.
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