COVID-19 Resource Center

How is Your Practice Changing as a Result of the Coronavirus? Coronavirus Resources for COA Members

As orthopaedic practices change to limit exposure to the Coronavirus, below are some resources for you to consider.

COA White Paper

• Practice Survival for an Orthopaedic Practice During COVID-19
• Importance of Wearing a Mask

Getting Back into Practice

• The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has become the dominant health-care issue of this generation and has reached every corner of the health-care delivery spectrum. Our 3 orthopaedic departments enacted a response to the COVID-19 pandemic within our organizations. We discuss our health-care systems’ response to the outbreak and offer discussion for the recovery of the orthopaedic service line within large health-care systems. Read More

Telehealth

• Center for Connected Health Policy – Preparing for the End of the PHE: How Federal Telehealth Policy is Expected to Change in 2023
• Robin Healthcare – Adapting Your Practice During the COVID-19 Crisis: Telemedicine and Patient Self-Examination in Orthopedics
• AMA publishes telehealth coding guide
• Payor Telehealth Policies
• Infographic: COVID-19 Flow Chart
• COVID-19 malpractice coverage questions and answers
• Karen Zupko & Associates – 6 communication tactics for the COVID-19 pandemic
• AAOS Resources — COVID-19
• Hooper, Lundy & Bookman – Practical tips for implementing telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic
• Health Affairs – Opportunities to expand telehealth use amid the coronavirus pandemic
• CMS Frequently Asked Questions
• Medicare Telemedicine Health Care Provider Fact Sheet
• CMS Directive – ER patients go directly to skilled nursing facilities
• CMS – Recommendations: Elective Surgeries CMS Releases Recommendations on Adult Elective Surgeries, Non-Essential Medical, Surgical, and Dental Procedures During COVID-19 Response
• AAOS Guidelines – Elective Surgeries
• Center for Connected Health Policy – Medicare Telehealth Update
• Telehealth CPT Guidelines
• Foley & Lardner – COVID-19: CMS issues EMTALA guidance
• CDC Resources
• CMS Resources

CARES Act – (Financial help for Small Businesses including physician offices)

• Foley & Lardner – Takeaways from the CARES Act

Tips from Orthopaedic Practice Managers

1. Screen patients before their appointment to see if they are running a fever, coughing, or having respiratory problems.
2. Take the patient’s history remotely to reduce the patient’s time in the office.
3. Ask patients to wait in their cars until you are ready to take them directly into an exam room.
4. Have the staff and the surgeons wear masks and protective clothing. Some offices are able to get surgical masks from their ASCs.
5. As the patient enters your office, take their temperature. If they are running a fever direct them to your local county health department for care.
6. If you are having patients wait in your waiting room, remove chairs so that patients are at least 6 feet apart.
7. If an adult patient, don’t allow other family members to attend the visit.  If a minor patient, only 1 family member can accompany the patient.
8. As the patient enters the exam room have them wash their hands.
9. The surgeon should wash their hands also immediately before examining the patient.
10. Report any patient diagnostic imaging results to the patient on-line through secure messaging.
11. Clean, clean, clean several times a day. Don’t forget to wipe down the doorknobs.

Employer Requirements

• California employment considerations during temporary shutdowns due to coronavirus

Outpatient Surgery Centers

• Guidance from the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (ASCA) for Outpatient Surgery Centers on Necessary Surgeries

Directives to Health Payors – Group Health and Workers’ Compensation

• Department of Managed Health Care Directive to Health Plans – HMOs, Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Shield, and Kaiser Permanente
• Department of Managed Health Care Payment Directives to Health Plans

Medicaid

• Medicaid State Plan Fee-For-Service Payments for Services Delivered Via Telehealth

Workers’ Compensation Guidance – Treatment and Workers’ Compensation

• Daisy Bill – Telehealth for California Workers’ Compensation
• CA DWC Provides Guidance on Medical Evaluations During State of Emergency Period
• Broadspire releases white paper on workers’ compensation impacts of 2019 coronavirus

COA White Paper on Telehealth Visits

• Telehealth in Orthopaedics: An Essential Technology

General

• Facts About the Coronavirus
• Foley & Lardner – COVID-19: States waive in-state licensing requirements for health care providers 
• Foley & Lardner – HIPAA Guidance
• US prepares for 18-month pandemic; 52% of COVID-19 patients are younger than 55 — 7 key updates
• The CORE Institute implements orthopedic walk-in clinics to ease burden in COVID-19 pandemic
• UCLA engineers build surgical face shields using 3D printers and laser cutters for healthcare workers amid pandemic