HEALTH CARE WEEK IN REVIEW: CDC Issues Stark Warning As New U.S. Daily Coronavirus Cases Top 200,000, CMS Looks To Permanently Expand Telehealth Services, HHS Estimates 100 Million People Will Get COVID-19 Vaccine By March, CMS Seeks To Boost Hospital Capacity During COVID-19 Surge
Here's The Latest in Health Care:
• The U.S. set a pair of alarming coronavirus records this week, surpassing 200,000 new infections and topping 100,000 COVID-19 patients hospitalized, the first time the country has reached either metric in a single day. The CDC warns the worst might still be ahead, predicting the death toll could reach 450,000 by February. Read More
• CMS further cemented the use of telehealth in Medicare by permanently allowing Medicare providers to use telehealth to carry out home visits for evaluation and management services and some visits for people with cognitive impairments. It also temporarily continues telehealth services for emergency department visits and other services with an eye toward making them permanent. Read More
• Federal officials say they predict vaccinating as many as 100 million people by March. This announcement is based on the anticipated vaccine supplies from Pfizer and Moderna, the two vaccine frontrunners. While neither vaccine has yet to receive emergency approval from U.S. regulators, officials expect 20 million Americans to be vaccinated by the end of the year. Read More
• CMS is giving hospitals facing a surge of COVID-19 patients expanded flexibility to care for Medicare patients in their homes. The new Acute Hospital Care At Home program will allow Medicare patients to be admitted into the program from emergency departments and inpatient hospital beds. The program will require in-person screening protocols to assess both medical and non-medical factors before care can begin at home. Read More
Each Friday, Signor Goat reports the latest from the week in health care. Check back next Friday for your dose of our little medical corner of health care news. Brought to you by pMD, innovators in charge capture, secure messaging, clinical communication, and care navigation software.
