Telemedicine and Stroke Care

Angie SzumlinskiStudies

“Telemedicine can have a significant impact on acute stroke care by enabling timely intervention in an ambulance before a patient reaches the hospital. However, limited research has been conducted on understanding and supporting team communication during the care delivery process for telemedicine-enabled stroke care in an ambulance,” according to the National Library of Medicine. That said, a study was conducted …

Research and More Research

Angie SzumlinskiStudies

According to an article published in Health Medicine Network: Monoclonal antibodies, a COVID-19 treatment given early after coronavirus infection, cut the risk of hospitalization and death by 60% in those most likely to suffer complications of the disease, according to an analysis of University of Pittsburgh Medical Center patients who received the medication compared to similar patients who did not. …

FDA – Instructions – Self-Collection

Angie SzumlinskiFeatured

The following article was published as a letter to Health Care Providers from the FDA on October 7, 2020. The FDA recommends health care providers provide visual (written or video) step-by-step instructions, in addition to verbal instructions, to patients who, in a health care setting, are self-collecting anterior nares (nasal) samples for SARS-CoV-2 testing. Written instructions may be provided on …

CMS Provides Updated Guidance for Emergency Preparedness Exemptions

Angie SzumlinskiAnnouncements, Featured

CMS updated their guidance related to emergency preparedness for exercise exemptions based on a facility’s activation of their Emergency Plan. The guidance applies to the below qualified facilities: CMS recognizes many facilities are still operating under disaster/emergency conditions during the PHE, i.e., under an activated emergency plan. We are therefore providing additional guidance for inpatient providers/suppliers, consistent with the exemption …

MDHHS- Premium Pay for Adult Foster Care and Homes for the Aged

Angie SzumlinskiAnnouncements

On June 21, 2021, the Michigan Departments of Health & Human Services issued a letter to providers about premium pay for adult foster care and homes for the aged. The letter is specific to premium payment made to direct care workers employed by State of Michigan licensed adult foster care (AFC) or homes for the aged (HFA) residential settings. If …

Hearing Loss and COVID-19 Vaccines

Angie SzumlinskiStudies

Many vaccine-related adverse events are associated with otolaryngologic manifestations… The incidence of sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) was examined after influenza vaccination in a large-scale study that demonstrated no association between vaccination and the rate of SSNHL. The CDC VAERS is a national repository of incident reports associated with adverse reactions that occur after any vaccination. This database was queried …

ESRD and COVID-19

Angie SzumlinskiHealth, Studies

The following was published by the CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) from June 4, 2021: End-stage renal disease (ESRD) is a condition in which kidney function has permanently declined such that renal replacement therapy is required to sustain life. The mortality rate for patients with ESRD in the United States has been declining since 2001, however, during the …

CMS – Expanding Vaccine Confidence

Angie SzumlinskiAnnouncements, Featured

A CMS Press Release on May 11, 2021 explained the new rule issued by CMS that is aimed at “expanding efforts to grow COVID-19 vaccine confidence and uptake amongst the nations most vulnerable”. As part of the ongoing response to address the COVID-19 pandemic, and to improve health care access and reduce the risk of severe illness and death from …

Vaccine or Infection – More Protection

Angie SzumlinskiStudies

“Can observational clinical data from commercial laboratories be used to evaluate the comparative risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection for individuals who are antibody positive vs those who are antibody negative? [The purpose of a study published in JAMA] was to evaluate evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection based on diagnostic nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) among patients …

$200 Million for Disease Intervention Specialist Workforce

Angie SzumlinskiNews

On June 18, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Department of Health and Human Services awarded 59 jurisdictions with $200 million to bolster support and enhance  the disease intervention specialists (DIS) workforce. These awards represent the initial funding of the $1.13 billion investment being made over the next five years, consistent with the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, and will …