- GAO Seeks New Members for Tribal and Indigenous Advisory Council
- VA: Staff Sergeant Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program Funding Opportunity
- Telehealth Study Recruiting Veterans Now
- USDA Delivers Immediate Relief to Farmers, Ranchers and Rural Communities Impacted by Recent Disasters
- Submit Nominations for Partnership for Quality Measurement (PQM) Committees
- Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation of the Medicare Program (Executive Order 14192) - Request for Information
- Dr. Mehmet Oz Shares Vision for CMS
- CMS Refocuses on its Core Mission and Preserving the State-Federal Medicaid Partnership
- Social Factors Help Explain Worse Cardiovascular Health among Adults in Rural Vs. Urban Communities
- Reducing Barriers to Participation in Population-Based Total Cost of Care (PB-TCOC) Models and Supporting Primary and Specialty Care Transformation: Request for Input
- Secretary Kennedy Renews Public Health Emergency Declaration to Address National Opioid Crisis
- Secretary Kennedy Renews Public Health Emergency Declaration to Address National Opioid Crisis
- 2025 Marketplace Integrity and Affordability Proposed Rule
- Rural America Faces Growing Shortage of Eye Surgeons
- Comments Requested on Mobile Crisis Team Services: An Implementation Toolkit Draft
CDC COVID-19 Stats: COVID-19 Incidence by Urban-Rural Classification
The CDC has established a new MMWR reporting feature, “COVID-19 Stats.” This edition of COVID-19 Stats highlights rural-urban disparities in COVID incidence rates.
For more information on COVID-19 incidence by Urban-Rural classification, click here.
Additionally, CDC Science Clips recently featured articles on rural health in conjunction with the observance of National Rural Health Day.
CMS Targeted COVID-19 Training for Frontline Nursing Home Staff
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) consulted with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to create training modules for basic infection control and prevention. The site also includes modules for management that address larger, institution-wide issues such as implementing telehealth, emergency preparedness, and vaccine delivery.
Updated: Rural Crosswalk for COVID-19 Waivers and Flexibilities
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updated their summary of the COVID-19-related waivers and flexibilities that affect Rural Health Clinics, Federally Qualified Health Centers, Critical Access Hospitals, rural skilled nursing facilities, and rural hospitals to include those from the most recent Interim Final Rule with Comment (IFC)-4.
Medicare Extreme and Uncontrollable Exceptions Applications – Due December 31
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is encouraging clinicians to submit an application now if there are concerns about the effect of COVID-19 on their performance data for the Quality Payment Program. Learn more details about how the extreme and uncontrollable exception will change data reporting requirements. Clinicians should cite COVID-19 as the reason for the application.
Emergency Call for Volunteer Health Care Professionals
The Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Rural Medicine Program seeks emergency volunteers for Indian Health Service sites within the Great Plains Area. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American Indian and Alaska Native persons appear to be disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and insufficient public health resources may contribute to the disparity. Qualifying volunteers are physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, and respiratory therapists who are currently licensed in any of the 50 US states. MGH anticipates that travel expenses will be eligible for reimbursement. Please direct questions to rosebuddoctors@gmail.com.
CARES Act Supports Online Resource for Professional Licensure
The website for the Multi-Discipline Licensure Resource Project was created to support pandemic response through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and the FORHP-supported Licensure Portability Program. Created by the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards, the site provides up-to-date information on emergency regulation and licensing in each state for psychologists, occupational therapists, physical assistants, and social workers.
Rural Health Care Surge Readiness
Rural communities face unique health care challenges in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The Federal Healthcare Resilience Working Group has developed a collection of essential resources, tools, and trainings that can help health care workers and organizations – including EMS or 9-1-1, inpatient or hospital care, ambulatory care, and long-term care – prepare for and respond to COVID-19. New and updated resources are added regularly like the PPE Preservation Planning Guide and Telemedicine Hack training.
Access the one-stop shop for rural health care.
How Pfizer Plans to Distribute Its Vaccine
Pfizer announced that early analysis showed that their COVID-19 vaccine candidate was more than 90 percent effective. Now Pfizer, government agencies and the public health community are focused on how to make millions of doses of the vaccine and distribute them to the hospitals, clinics and pharmacies where people will receive two separate injections. If the FDA approves the vaccine in the coming weeks, as expected, Pfizer could in theory vaccinate millions of Americans by the end of the year. However, as the New York Times notes, this process hinges on the cooperation of multiple federal, state and local agencies, as well as providers and other stakeholders. The full New York Times article is available here.
Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Outpatient Care
In their fifth report on outpatient health care service utilization during the pandemic, the Commonwealth Fund tracked outpatient visit trends through Oct. 10. The report notes that while utilization has rebounded significantly from earlier in the pandemic, providers continue to face challenges keeping patients and clinicians safe while also maintaining revenue. The report provides charts illustrating that overall visit counts per week have fully rebounded. In total, weekly visit counts now slightly exceed pre-pandemic levels. However, there is considerable variation by patient age, geographic area, clinical specialty and insurance coverage. The full report is available here.
Study Adds New COVID-19 Symptoms
Researchers analyzed nearly 12,000 visits by adult patients to emergency departments at five New York City hospitals. They found COVID-19 in 57.5 percent of patients who went to the hospital because of weakness, falls or altered mental status; 55.5 percent of those who came in because their blood sugar was out of control; and 51.4 percent of patients whose chief complaint was a gastrointestinal problem. Read more.