- Interim Clinical Guidance for Management of Patients with Confirmed Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) was updated September 10, 2020 by CDC.
- CDC also updated the following webpages this past week, but no specific details provided as to what each update included. These websites may be of interest to you:
- Duration of Isolation and Precautions for Adults with COVID-19 was updated on September 10, 2020.
- People Who Live in a Nursing Home or Long-Term Care Facility was updated September 11, 2020.
- People with Certain Medical Conditions was updated September 11, 2020.
- People Who Are at Increased Risk for Severe Illness was updated September 11, 2020.
- COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Medicare Fee-for-Service (FFS) Billing was updated by CMS on September 11, 2020. This is an ever-expanding-now-145-page Medicare telehealth document. It is worth bookmarking for future reference and historical record. New/updated information is found on pages [all beneath National Coverage Determinations (NCD)]:
- 116 … Are there other NCDs/LCDs whose clinical indications will not be enforced during the COVID-19 PHE?
- 120 … The April 6, 2020 Interim Final Rule with Comment Period (IFC) finalizes on an interim basis that CMS will not enforce the clinical indications for coverage across infusion pump (NCD 280.14) and (LCD L33794) external infusion pump national and local coverage determinations during the Public Health Emergency for the COVID-19 pandemic. Does this mean that all drugs or only certain drugs can be infused at home?
- 121 … Will ventilator management services be covered if provided via telehealth?
- 121 … Do the coverage flexibilities in the April 6, 2020 IFC1 and May 8, 2020 IFC2 pertaining to face-to-face requirements, direct supervision, and the lifting of certain clinical indications in NCDs or LCDs apply to non-covid-19 patients?
- 121 … For a beneficiary to be eligible for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP), will Medicare require a sleep study to diagnose obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) during the PHE for COVID-19?
- 122 … Can a Nurse Navigator place an order for Lung Cancer Screening with Low Dose Computed Tomography (LDCT) after a phone interaction with the beneficiary for the subsequent LDCT?
- 122 … Can providers now prescribe a therapeutic continuous glucose monitor to all beneficiaries with diabetes [Type I and Type II] for the duration of the COVID-19 PHE, irrespective of their level of insulin dependence and the parameters of the existing local coverage determinations (LCDs), so long as documentation supports its being medically appropriate?
- 122 … Because CMS is not enforcing clinical indications for certain NCDs and LCDs during the COVID-19 PHE, how will practitioners, providers and suppliers know what indications will be covered and what is required for documentation?
- 123 … During the PHE, face-to-face and in-person encounters that are required or inferred as part of NCDs and LCDs will not apply. How do practitioners, providers and suppliers interpret this flexibility when it comes to NCDs and LCDs that have coverage criteria based on a patient’s clinical data that can only be collected by physically interacting with the patient?
- Coronavirus (COVID-19) Guidance Documents is another overall CDC resource to bookmark and check often. There are currently 4 such guidance documents that have been updated since September 1, 2020:
- Interim Operational Considerations for Public Health Management of Healthcare Workers Exposed to or with Suspected or Confirmed COVID-19: non-U.S. Healthcare Settings
- Interim Clinical Guidance for Management of Patients with Confirmed Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) (This website is also found in my first bullet of this blog)
- Interim Guidance for Rapid Antigen Testing for SARS-CoV-2
Want to keep up with the changing COVID-19 situation in skilled nursing?