COVID-19 Report

Products and Technology

Updox Releases New Vaccine Communications Package to Expedite Safe, Efficient Delivery of COVID-19 Vaccines
Updox (@updox), the only place to manage healthcare communications across both in-person and virtual care, announced the availability of a COVID-19 Vaccine Communications Package to facilitate safe, efficient delivery of the COVID-19 vaccine and effective patient engagement and communications surrounding distribution.

How the Public Can Help Frontline Nurses Battling Covid
“Covid-19 Survival Guide” is a free internet video series for nurses and frontline healthcare workers created by EMPOWERED NURSES — an organization founded in 2012 and run by Lorie Brown, a globally known nurse attorney, author and advocate. Brown wants the public to help get the word out to nurses and healthcare workers to help them keep going. She produced the video with her own money as a way to give back to nurses who are fighting this fight.

News and Noted

MNA Nurses and Healthcare Professionals Call for Universal N95 Masking as COVID-19 Cases Surge and Asymptomatic Spread Puts all Caregivers at Risk
As the second surge of the COVID-19 pandemic rocks Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Nurses Association – representing 23,000 nurses and healthcare professionals statewide, including 70% of nurses in acute care hospitals – is calling for the immediate implementation of a universal N95 masking standard to protect staff, patients and the community from asymptomatic spread.

AMA statement on FDA authorization of first COVID-19 vaccine
Read the latest statement from Susan R. Bailey, M.D. President of the American Medical Association (@AmerMedicalAssn).

U.S. HHS to give $4.5 billion more to pandemic-hit healthcare providers
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said on Wednesday it would add $4.5 billion in funding for frontline healthcare providers fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

Allscripts Moves Quickly to Support Clients in COVID-19 Vaccine Administration
Allscripts Healthcare Solutions (@Allscripts) is dedicating extensive resources to ensure its clients are prepared to maximize functionality within its solutions to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 surge pushes U.S. hospitals to brink as 2nd vaccine nears approval
An unrelenting U.S. coronavirus surge pushed besieged hospitals further to the brink as the United States pressed on with its immunization rollout on Thursday and prepared to ship nearly 6 million doses of a new vaccine on the cusp of winning regulatory approval.

Coronavirus Has Infected Over 2% of US Children
Medscape (@medscape) reports that After last week’s ever-so-slightly positive news, the COVID-19 numbers in children have gone back to their old ways. For the week ending Dec. 10, there were 178,823 new COVID-19 cases reported in U.S. children, the highest weekly total yet during the pandemic.

IntelyCare Announces Record Growth and Momentum; Meets Surging Demand for Nursing Professionals in Post-Acute Space with Industry-Leading Data Science Approach
IntelyCare (@intelycare), an intelligent workforce management solution for post-acute facilities, announced it has experienced record growth and momentum throughout 2020 due to increasing demands for data science-driven staffing technology to help the post-acute market respond to ongoing nursing shortages and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Surveys and Reports

Readmission and Death After Initial Hospital Discharge Among Patients With COVID-19 in a Large Multihospital System
Jama Network (@JAMA_current) reports that although more patients are surviving severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), there are limited data on outcomes after initial hospitalization. We therefore measured the rate of readmission, reasons for readmission, and rate of death after hospital discharge among patients with COVID-19 in the nationwide Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system.

Future Uncertainty Hangs Heavy in Cigna COVID-19 Study
Cigna’s (@cigna) International Markets business published the fourth edition of its COVID-19 Global Impact Study, which reveals that people are increasingly worried about the long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

To Listen

We have compiled a playlist from all our shows and podcasts on our network that discuss the current COVID-19 pandemic.

To Read

The Foods to Boost Your Energy Levels and Immune System as We Head Into Covid Winter by The Wall Street Journal – With Covid cases surging as winter approaches, our energy levels and immune systems could use a boost. We often turn to comfort foods on cold, dreary days, but eating the right foods can strengthen our bodies in better ways. Here are some of the most helpful nutrients for winter, and the foods to find them in.

COVID-19 and Beyond: Addressing Vaccine Equity from the AHIP Blog – We know that the pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on minority communities. As we look forward to a vaccine being authorized and becoming available, it is important to consider longstanding disparities in access to care that will create familiar challenges to equitable distribution.

Events

Physicians’ Reciprocal Insurers (PRI)
What: COVID-19 Physician Peer Support
When: Tuesdays & Thursdays 5:30 – 6:30 pm ET
Register for Tuesday & Thursday Groups
Twitter
@EmPRO_Insurance

COVID-19 Physician Peer Support – PRI has multiple weekly complimentary Virtual Support Groups on Coping with COVID-19 which your fellow physicians have been utilizing and finding great comfort and support from.

Latest COVID-19 News from CDC
CDC is one of the major operating components of the Department of Health and Human Services. CDC works 24/7 to protect America from health, safety and security threats, both foreign and in the US. CDC increases the health security of our nation. As the nation’s health protection agency, CDC saves lives and protects people from health threats.

The CDC is the front line for our safety and information on the Coronavirus. Keep informed about COVID-19. Sign up to get emails or text alerts from the CDC.

HHS and our federal partners are working together with state, local, tribal and territorial governments, public health officials, health care providers, researchers, private sector organizations and the public to execute a whole-of-America response to the COVID-19 pandemic to protect the health and safety of the American people.

ONC To support HHS’s ongoing response efforts to the outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), ONC has partnered with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to share various resources for reporting and tracking COVID-19, as well as general clinical guidance to the health IT community and healthcare providers. Health IT now plays a crucial role in the collecting and reporting of COVID-19 data.

CMS Find tools and resources from CMS for Providers on COVID

COVID-19 Resources
HealthcareNOW Radio rounded up some health IT resources being offered by companies to help healthcare professionals, American citizens and all of those affected in the fight against the coronavirus.

COVID-19 Pharma News
HealthcareNOW Radio rounded up some of the latest news and announcements pertaining to the coronavirus and the pharmaceutical industry.

Health Center COVID-19 Testing
Updated weekly using data from the Health Center COVID-19 Survey, the Health Center COVID-19 Testing Dashboard provides a high-level view of total COVID-19 tests conducted and the distribution of positive COVID-19 tests by race and ethnicity.