March 16, 2020

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Our Care Coordination team is closely monitoring the situation of COVID19 and the CDC recommendations. We understand there is limited information right now, as the virus is novel, and new information is coming in on the daily. As part of our continuous Nursing Chronic Care Management Education initiative, we are educating our nurses on the CDC guidelines, and will help facilitate this knowledge to your patients.

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As of right now, here are our CDC recommendations to your patients:

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Education Items discussed:

• Hand-washing- make sure you spend at least 20 seconds with soap and water, or use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.,

• Cover Coughs and sneeze in crook of elbow (vampire sneeze); dispose tissues immediately,

• Make sure you clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces with regular household sprays or wipes.

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Education Provided:

• Symptoms: Common symptoms of COVID19 are; Fever, Dry Mouth, Shortness Of Breath, and Body Aches

• The disease can be transmitted to and from animals.

• Symptoms can take up to 14 days to appear after exposure (14 days was the longest reported period)

• Currently there is no vaccination available for the virus. 

• Follow CDC’s recommendations for using a facemask.

  • CDC does not recommend that people who are well wear a facemask to protect themselves from respiratory diseases, including COVID-19.

  • Facemasks should be used by people who show symptoms of COVID-19 to help prevent the spread of the disease to others. The use of facemasks is also crucial for health workers and people who are taking care of someone in close settings (at home or in a health care facility).

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Education: Risk Factors to avoid:

• In close contact with patients diagnosed with COVID-19,

• Direct contact with infectious secretions form someone with disease,

• Uncontrolled co-morbid conditions can increase chance of complications from virus.

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Advice if sick:

• Stay at home if you feel unwell. Seek medical attention by calling your practice to seek advice if you have symptoms of: Fever, dry cough, Shortness of Breath, body aches, fatigue, vomiting, or diarrhea.

• Staying healthy with an active routine and a proper nutritional plan is a good defense against this virus.

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Along with these guidelines, we have a symptom checker to screen a patient who may present with symptoms, to bring to your attention. We are going to proactively ask the patients to call the practice and seek medical advice before showing up to the front desk, as per CDC recommendations. Our goal is to minimize the fear by allowing your patients to gain some ease in the matter with knowledge.

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Our team is dedicated to help maintain proper care management to help maintain CCM and RPM. Please call your Care Coordination team if you need to give different instructions to your patients. If you agree with these instructions to your patients, we will continue to follow this plan. We will gladly assist in any way possible.

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As this disease has become a Pandemic, we are doing our best to help educate, and contain the matter the best we can. We have asked all non-essential employees of the CCM/RPM program to work from home, and will be coordinating care of your patients from there.

 

If you have any questions or concerns please reach out to any one of us​ directly.

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