By Liz Carey

Although the federal government dedicated significant funds to support rural hospitals during the pandemic, some struggle with murky spending rules and fear having to pay it back after the crisis is over. Read more

By Bill Bishop

Using the White House Coronavirus Task Force definition, the Daily Yonder found that 32% of rural counties and 41% of metropolitan counties should be enacting more stringent measures to control the spread of Covid-19. Read more

The Pennsylvania Psychiatric Leadership Council (PPLC) is hosting a variety of free support groups for nurses, doctors and front-line workers impacted by COVID-19 and looking to connect with other professionals. The purpose of these groups is to provide free emotional support, encouragement and compassionate self-care to those of you working with this pandemic daily. Please note that this is not free therapy and is to serve as support only.

With the flu season not that far away, a new Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) page discusses the similarities and the differences between influenza (flu) and COVID-19 that may be of interest to health center staff and patients. Because some of the symptoms of flu and COVID-19 are similar, it may be difficult to tell the difference between them based on symptoms alone, and testing may be needed to help confirm a diagnosis. Flu and COVID-19 share many characteristics, but there are some key differences between the two. While more is learned every day and there is still a lot that is unknown about COVID-19 and the virus that causes it, the page offers the best available information to date.

The world of telehealth has expanded into what some may consider “non-traditional” arenas. Retailers Walgreens, Walmart and CVS have all entered the healthcare space in a variety of ways, including telehealth. Walgreens and CVS offer virtual visits and telehealth services to consumers while Walmart includes telehealth services in its employee benefits plan. Here are some things to know about each retail company’s telehealth strategy. See article in Becker’s Hospital Review.

• Walgreens offers 24/7 online doctor visits to consumers for $75 cash through MDLIVE; doesn’t accept insurance but some insurance companies will accept telehealth claims from the visits; takes HSA and FSA cards for payment; physicians can write prescriptions for non-narcotic medications and information is provided to primary care physicians in accordance with state and federal laws.
• CVS offers consumer video visits for $59 per visit; available 24/7 for 365 days per year; accepts debit and credit cards as well as FSA and HSA cards; accepts some insurance but isn’t required for treatment; video visits are available in 44 states and the District of Columbia; they are not available in Nevada, Montana, Alaska, Georgia, North Carolina and Massachusetts.
• Walmart offers telehealth to employees through their benefits plan with 24/7 access; video chat with a doctor with the premier plan, saver plan and local plans is $0 through Doctor On Demand; and associates and families not enrolled in the Walmart medical plan can use Doctor On Demand for $75 for medical visits, $70 for a 25-minute psychology consultation, $119 for a 50-minute psychology consultation, $99 for a 15-minute call with a psychiatrist or $229 for a 45-minute call with a psychiatrist.

Now in addition to searching for those health centers that offer COVID-19 testing, the HRSA Find a Health Center tool has also been updated to allow users to filter their search for health center sites that offer telehealth services.

Health Information Technology, Evaluation, and Quality Center (HITEQ) has issued a printable PDF checklist which provides a guide for health center staff to mitigate cybersecurity risks and threats during times of emergency and incident response that have them working remotely from the health center. It includes specific instructions for securing the router, updating the operating system on all devices and other critical tasks to ensure cybersecurity when working from home.

The Trump administration has ordered hospitals to bypass the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and send all COVID-19 patient information to a central database in Washington beginning today. The move has alarmed health experts who fear the data will be politicized or withheld from the public. Read more.