How is COVID-19 Affecting You?

OOA members are on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic. Tell us how COVID-19 is impacting you. Please complete this short survey. It will take less than two minutes. Your participation is greatly appreciated!

There’s also this form to let us know if you have specific COVID-19 questions so we can relay those to the Ohio Department of Health for guidance.

Ohio Works to Flatten the Curve

In the daily press conference on Thursday, Gov. Mike DeWine and Ohio Department of Health Director Amy Acton, MD, said Ohio’s efforts to slow the curve are working, noting it’s vital to continue the Stay at Home order and other strategies so hospitals can gear up for a crush of Coronavirus patients. Acton said current models indicate a surge around May 1 when the state will see 6,000-8,000 new cases daily.

As of Wednesday, 116 health care workers in the state were confirmed to be infected. On Thursday, the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department was closed temporarily when two staff members tested positive.

At an emergency meeting Sunday, the State of Ohio Pharmacy Board issued rules to prohibit pharmacists from dispensing chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 unless a person has tested positive for the virus or is otherwise approved by the pharmacy board’s executive director.

Acton encouraged primary care physicians to use telemedicine, take good histories, and practice as much as possible without face-to-face visits. She said ODH would soon issue new guidance.

The state is currently building an infrastructure to use the talents of retired physicians, nurses, and medical students. Acton said these health care workers could serve as disease detectives or serve as a resource for clinical questions to the Ohio Coronavirus hotline.

The state is collecting personal protective equipment (PPE), such as masks, goggles, gloves, gowns, face shields, for health care workers and first responders. Anyone who has a supply to donate should email together@governor.ohio.gov. State leaders are also looking for ways to conserve PPE. If you have an idea use the State Medical Board form.

A resource list is on the OOA website at www.OhioDO.org/coronavirus.

ODH Loan Repayment Program Deadline March 28

The Ohio Substance Use Disorder Professional Loan Repayment Program (Ohio SUDLRP) deadline is tomorrow. Applications must be postmarked on or before March 28.

Ohio SUDLRP aims to increase access to SUD treatment for underserved communities and populations. In exchange for loan repayment assistance, providers commit to practice for two years at an eligible site in a Health Professional Shortage Area, as well as in other high-burdened SUD areas of the state; accept Medicare and Medicaid; and see clients regardless of ability to pay.

Full-time and part-time practice options are allowable, with a minimum of 50% of direct client care hours required to be spent providing SUD treatment.

Get the application and details here.

ACGME Takes Action in Response to Pandemic

The ACGME has suspended certain accreditation-related activities until future notice to allow the GME community to prioritize patient care duties in line with COVID-19 responsibilities. They include
self-study activities, including the submission of self-study summaries; all accreditation site visits; all  Clinical Learning Environment Review (CLER) program site visits; and resident/fellow and faculty surveys.

Additionally, the ACGME has accelerated the use of the Common Program Requirements for supervision of telemedicine visits carried out by residents and fellows, originally scheduled to go into effect July 1, 2020. Instead, effective immediately, the ACGME will permit residents/fellows to participate in the use of telemedicine to care for patients affected by the pandemic.

More details are here.

SMBO Temporarily Suspends CME Enforcement

The emergency changes made by the State Medical Board of Ohio last week do not dismiss the CME requirement for license renewal. Rather, it temporarily suspends enforcement. Physicians will still ultimately be required to get their CME for that licensure period. This does NOT include any existing board orders and consent agreements for individual licensees. Those remedial education expectations must be met.

Licensees who do not complete their required CME by the time of their renewal will indicate that on their license renewal and enforcement will not be taken.

See the SMBO website for details.