The Tarrant County Medical Society is pleased to announce that the City of Fort Worth Fire Department, in close consultation with Dr. Michael Williams, President, UNTHSC at Fort Worth and Dr. Keith Argenbright, Director, Moncrief Cancer Institute/UT Southwestern Medical Center have opened a COVID-19 testing center for 1st responders that is now available to front line health care workers. This screening resource is now available for physicians, nurses, medical assistants and other health professionals who are on the front lines fighting the COVID virus.
If you are interested in accessing this testing, please call the Infections Disease Coordinator at the Joint Emergency Operations Center (EOC) at the City of Fort Worth at 817-714-9709. This number is answered from 8 am to 5 pm daily. The ID coordinator will conduct an environmental and clinical assessment of the health care professional and determine if COVID testing is warranted. We understand that the clinical evaluation of COVID testing is complex and changes rapidly – you can be assured that the IC coordinator is up-to-date on the current recommendations.
If testing is indicated, the ID coordinator will collect demographic and clinical information from the health care professional and give the provider the address of the testing facility and an appointment window. The ID coordinator will inform the professional that if the result is positive, they will receive the results by phone; if negative by text or e-mail. The health care professional will be given post-test instructions, including self-quarantine until the test results are available. We are telling them to expect 5 days for results, but are hoping for a quicker turn-around.
We appreciate your cooperation in this effort to quickly and appropriately screen our critical health care providers. This is a new program and thus will be subject to modification as it is operationalized.
Watch Pediatric Infectious Disease specialist Dr. Mark Shelton’s responses to WFAA, where he spoke about the importance of the recent stay at home order issued in Tarrant County. Originally aired on 3/24/20.
Tarrant County Public Heath’s (TCPH) report of COVID-19 activity in Tarrant County, updated Monday, March 23, 2020 at 11:15 a.m.Find more COVID-19 information from TCPH here.
An update from Stephen Carlton, J.D., the executive director of the Texas Medical Board, published on 3/21/20. You can read the signed letter here.
The Texas Medical Board (TMB) issued initial guidance on February 7, 2020, regarding PMP checks after multiple inquiries. The guidance was intended to be helpful for licensees to understand the upcoming change in the law on March 1, 2020 and address their concerns. No TMB guidance is enforceable nor can they result in any enforcement or disciplinary action.
TMB held a meeting of the TMB Opioid Workgroup on February 18, 2020. One of the primarygoals was to obtain input regarding when to do mandatory PMP checks, who can do them, and how to document these checks. TMB took extensive input from the Opioid Workgroup Stakeholders. This collaborative effort resulted in the following consensus:
The mandatory PMP check is required only when a physician prescribes opioids, benzodiazepines, barbiturates, or carisoprodol to the ultimate user for take-home use upon leaving an outpatient setting, such as a doctor’s office or ambulatory surgical center, or upon discharge from an inpatient setting, such as a hospital admission, or discharge from an emergency department visit. A mandatory PMP check is not required before or during an inpatient stay, such as a hospital admission, or during an outpatient encounter setting, such as an emergency department or ambulatory surgical center visit
The physician may delegate the PMP check to any legally authorized personnel the same way physicians may delegate other tasks.
A copy of the PMP check may be placed in a patient’s medical records.
Staff anticipates bringing a proposed rule to the Board consistent with this updated guidance for possible publication as soon as March 5-6. TMB believes this updated guidance fulfills the intent of the law, reflects valuable stakeholder input, and enhances the protection of Texas patients.
Click here for TMB’s latest COVID-19 news and resources.
Physicians, below are a number of printable COVID-19 materials TMA has compiled so they are easily accessible for your practice throughout the pandemic.
Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced unprecedented relief for the clinicians, providers, and facilities participating in Medicare quality reporting programs including the 1.2 million clinicians in the Quality Payment Program and on the front lines of America’s fight against the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).
Specifically, CMS announced it is granting exceptions from reporting requirements and extensions for clinicians and providers participating in Medicare quality reporting programs with respect to upcoming measure reporting and data submission for those programs. The action comes as part of the Trump Administration’s response to 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).
“In granting these exceptions and extensions, CMS is supporting clinicians fighting Coronavirus on the front lines,” said CMS Administrator Seema Verma. “The Trump Administration is cutting bureaucratic red tape so the healthcare delivery system can direct its time and resources toward caring for patients.”
Specifically, CMS is implementing additional extreme and uncontrollable circumstances policy exceptions and extensions for upcoming measure reporting and data submission deadlines for the following CMS programs:
Provider Programs
2019 Data Submission
2020 Data Submission
· Quality Payment Program – Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS)
Deadline extended from March 31, 2020 to April 30, 2020. MIPS eligible clinicians who have not submitted any MIPS data by April 30, 2020 will qualify for the automatic extreme and uncontrollable circumstances policy and will receive a neutral payment adjustment for the 2021 MIPS payment year.
CMS is evaluating options for providing relief around participation and data submission for 2020.
· Medicare Shared Savings Program Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs)
Hospital Programs
2019 Data Submission
2020 Data Submission
· Ambulatory Surgical Center Quality Reporting Program
Deadlines for October 1, 2019 – December 31, 2019 (Q4) data submission optional. If Q4 is submitted, it will be used to calculate the 2019 performance and payment (where appropriate). If data for Q4 is unable to be submitted, the 2019 performance will be calculated based on data from January 1, 2019 – September 30, 2019 (Q1-Q3) and available data.
CMS will not count data from January 1, 2020 through June 30, 2020 (Q1-Q2) for performance or payment programs. Data does not need to be submitted to CMS for this time period. * For the Hospital-Acquired Condition Reduction Program and the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program, if data from January 1, 2020 – March 31, 2020 (Q1) is submitted, it will be used for scoring in the program (where appropriate).
· CrownWeb National ESRD Patient Registry and Quality Measure Reporting System
· End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Quality Incentive Program
· Hospital-Acquired Condition Reduction Program
· Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting Program
· Hospital Outpatient Quality Reporting Program
· Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program
· Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program
· Inpatient Psychiatric Facility Quality Reporting Program
· PPS-Exempt Cancer Hospital Quality Reporting Program
· Promoting Interoperability Program for Eligible Hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals
Post-Acute Care (PAC) Programs
2019 Data Submission
2020 Data Submission
· Home Health Quality Reporting Program
Deadlines for October 1, 2019 – December 31, 2019 (Q4) data submission optional. If Q4 is submitted, it will be used to calculate the 2019 performance and payment (where appropriate).
Data from January 1, 2020 through June 30, 2020 (Q1-Q2) does not need to be submitted to CMS for purposes of complying with quality reporting program requirements. * Home Health and Hospice Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) survey data from January 1, 2020 through September 30, 2020 (Q1-Q3) does not need to be submitted to CMS. * For the Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Value-Based Purchasing Program, qualifying claims will be excluded from the claims-based SNF 30-Day All-Cause Readmission Measure (SNFRM; NQF #2510) calculation for Q1-Q2.
· Hospice Quality Reporting Program
· Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility Quality Reporting Program
· Long Term Care Hospital Quality Reporting Program
· Skilled Nursing Facility Quality Reporting Program
· Skilled Nursing Facility Value-Based Purchasing Program
For those programs with data submission deadlines in April and May 2020, submission of those data will be optional, based on the facility’s choice to report. In addition, no data reflecting services provided January 1, 2020 through June 30, 2020 will be used in CMS’s calculations for the Medicare quality reporting and value-based purchasing programs. This is being done to reduce the data collection and reporting burden on providers responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
CMS recognizes that quality measure data collection and reporting for services furnished during this time period may not be reflective of their true level of performance on measures such as cost, readmissions and patient experience during this time of emergency and seeks to hold organizations harmless for not submitting data during this period.
CMS will continue monitoring the developing COVID-19 situation and assess options to bring additional relief to clinicians, facilities, and their staff so they can focus on caring for patients. This action, and earlier CMS actions in response to COVID-19, are part of the ongoing White House Task Force efforts. To keep up with the important work the Task Force is doing in response to COVID-19, please visit www.coronavirus.gov. For a complete and updated list of CMS actions, and other information specific to CMS, please visit the Current Emergencies Website
Tarrant County Public Heath’s (TCPH) report of COVID-19 activity in Tarrant County, updated Sunday, March 22, 2020 at 11:15 a.m.Find more COVID-19 information from TCPH here.
Mayor Betsy Price signed an amended order to the emergency declaration in place within the City of Fort Worth due to a local public health emergency and in a continued effort to further mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
The following went into effect today, Saturday, March 21, 2020 at 6:00 pm:
All in-person worship services are no longer permitted, with the exception of worship support staff to facilitate online services.
All malls and non-essential retail establishments including barber shops, hair salons, nail salons, spas, massage parlors, estheticians and related personal care businesses are closed and no occupancy is permitted.
Also closed: bars, lounges, taverns, commercial amusement and entertainment establishments, bingo halls, theaters, gyms, fitness classes, yoga and personal training facilities, similar facilities and classes, private clubs, tattoo and piercing parlors and tanning salons, residential meeting spaces, event centers, hotel meeting spaces and ballrooms, outdoor plazas and markets Essential services such as grocery stores, pharmacies and other establishments that sell household goods will remain open but must enforce social separation. This includes:
Convenience and package stores, pharmacies and drug stores, day care facilities, medical facilities, veterinary facilities, non-profit service providers of essential services, homeless and emergency shelters, office buildings, jails, essential government buildings, airports and transit facilities, transportation systems, residential buildings and hotels, manufacturing and distribution facilities. In-house dining at restaurants remains closed, but drive-in, drive-through, takeout and delivery are still permitted. There is no distinction between the types of gatherings in the amended declaration. There should be no gatherings of more than 10 people.
Additionally, temperature screenings at public-facing city facilities began Wednesday, March 18. Those entering city facilities during normal business hours will have their temperature checked using a forehead thermometer, and people with a temperature of 100 degrees or more will be asked to leave, and to contact their healthcare provider. This includes city employees.
Tarrant County Public Heath’s (TCPH) report of COVID-19 activity in Tarrant County, updated Saturday, March 21, 2020 at 9:30 a.m.Find more COVID-19 information from TCPH here.
Tarrant County Physician Online 