11.30.2020

Vaccines are Coming, Plus Funding for OUD Projects

COVID Vaccines Expected Shortly in Commonwealth; Hospitals Prepare

DPH has alerted hospitals that COVID-19 vaccines should be arriving in Massachusetts sometime in December and that hospital healthcare personnel will be among the first to receive them.
 
Healthcare personnel are defined as “paid or unpaid persons who have the potential for direct or indirect exposure to people with COVID-19 or infections materials.” There are two vaccines that are expected to be available – one from Pfizer and the other from Moderna.
 
The Pfizer vaccine will be shipped in 975-dose increments and requires ultra-cold storage. But facilities will not have to purchase special refrigeration units; the Pfizer vaccine can be stored at -60 degrees to -80 degrees Celsius for up to 15 days using the thermal shipping container in which it is delivered, as long as the manufacturer’s instructions for replenishing the dry ice are strictly adhered to.
 
The Moderna vaccine will be shipped in 100-dose increments and requires normal refrigeration storage. Both vaccines require two doses; Pfizer’s 21 days apart and 28 days apart for Moderna’s.
 
Hospitals are now reviewing their storage, security, and administering procedures for vaccines, which includes identifying the first 975 healthcare personnel at the facility who will receive COVID-19 vaccine, then the next 975, etc. 
 
DPH’s initial guidance on the vaccine, which could change depending on a variety of factors, is here.
 

Grant Available for Medicare Opioid Use Disorder Programs

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is making $10 million available for each of Fiscal Years 2021 to 2024, for healthcare entities providing opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment services to Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries. OUD services for dual eligibles – those patients enrolled in both Medicare and Medicaid – may also apply for funding. 
 
The funding stream is made available under the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities Act (the SUPPORT Act), which was signed into law in 2018.
 
The four-year demonstration project creates two new payments to participating providers: 1) a per beneficiary per month care management fee and 2) a performance-based incentive payment. The new payments are in addition to opioid use disorder treatment services Medicare currently covers.
 
CMS says participants may use the payments to furnish services that “have a reasonable expectation of improving or maintaining the health or overall function of participating beneficiaries.”
 
Funding is open to: individual physicians, group practices comprised of at least one physician or nurse practitioner, hospital outpatient departments, federally qualified health centers, rural health clinics, community mental health centers, certified community behavioral health clinics, opioid treatment programs, and critical access hospitals.
 
Eligible participants can apply from now until January 3, 2021, and those selected to receive grants are expected to implement the demonstration by April 1, 2021, at which point payments will also start.
 
For more information, and to apply, click here.
 

MHA Partner PPE.Exchange Has Masks Available for Bulk Purchasing

MHA, in collaboration with PPE.Exchange, has another bulk purchasing opportunity available to assist providers acquire N95 masks as well as single-use surgical masks.
  
PPE.Exchange, currently partnered with one-fourth of the nation’s state hospital associations, is a digital marketplace that connects personal protective equipment (PPE) purchasers with a network of more than 300 verified vendors, suppliers, and manufacturers. The PPE.Exchange platform enables customers to easily place orders for verified equipment through a secure check out process.
 
Any organization is able to make purchases through the exchange; it is not limited to MHA members.
  
The specific items that are available through the MHA-PPE.Exchange are NIOSH-approved N95 particulate respirators distributed by Global Healthcare Product Solutions, LLC, of Los Angeles, and single-use surgical masks that have received ASTM F2100 Level III approval, and are also distributed by Global Healthcare. Click on the links above to see the full specifications for each product.
  
While MHA is pleased to coordinate this bulk purchase opportunity, organizations are welcome to make their own individual purchases of PPE at any time to meet their needs. If you are interested in participating in this bulk purchase for N95s and/or single use surgical masks, or if you would like more information about PPE.Exchange, please contact MHA’s Kim Stevenson at kstevenson@mhalink.org.
 

e-MOLST Web Portal is Resource for Serious Illness Conversations

The pandemic has caused many people to think about the kind of care they want to receive if they become seriously ill. The MA e-MOLST web portal offers healthcare providers and seriously ill, high-risk and frail adults an effective approach to engage in proactive care planning conversations and document patient care choices through planning documents.
  
A MOLST form is a medical order document, which is similar to a prescription. It is signed by the patient and the clinician (physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant) after serious discussions about the patient's current medical condition, what could happen next, the patient's values and goals for care, and possible risks and benefits of treatments that may be offered. The signed MOLST form stays with the patient and is to be honored by health professionals in any clinical care situation. It goes into effect immediately upon signing.
  
More than 85 care providers and organizations are using the e-MOLST web portal to engage patients and their legal advocates in serious illness conversations. The web portal provides conversation guides to help gain a shared understanding of patient goals and choices, an e-MOLST form, and a link to a healthcare proxy in 10 languages. The portal also contains a new video explaining how the portal works and the benefits users can derive from it.
 

Free Support System for Healthcare Workers Affected by COVID-19

Caregiving jobs are tremendously rewarding but they are also high-stress and often emotionally draining. Those stressors have only increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  
The Emotional PPE Project, which is a totally volunteer effort supported by donations, provides caregivers with a list of licensed mental health practitioners, who will provide free sessions to them. As the Emotional PPE Project website states: “No insurance. No cost. Just a trained professional to talk to.”
  
Massachusetts hospitals are providing such services to their staff but the Emotional PPE Project notes that some workers may be hesitant to use an employer-based service because of the stigma – real or imagined – involved in seeking help.
  
You don’t have to be a physician to seek help; if you’re in a healthcare-related job and have been affected by COVID-19, you can use the anonymous service. If you’re a therapist who wants to volunteer, you can visit the project’s website, and if you want to help support it, you can contribute through the site as well.
 

Transition

Allen L. Smith, M.D., is the new president & CEO of South Shore Health, effective today. He most recently served as president of the Brigham and Women’s Physicians Organization and before that he was the organization’s chief medical officer. Previously, he served as assistant vice president for Strategy and Business Planning at Tufts Health Plan and was medical director for Secure Horizons, Tufts Health Plan for Seniors. He has a BA from Dartmouth College, graduating magna cum laude, an MD from University of Massachusetts Medical School, and an MS in Health Administration and Population Health from University of Wisconsin in Madison.

BREAKTHROUGH PROGRAM
Telemedicine & Innovation: Seizing the Moment to Transform Healthcare

Wednesday, December 9, 2020; 8:30 – 11:30 a.m.; Virtual Conference

COVID-19 ushered in a virtual care revolution. Almost instantly, the landscape of healthcare as we knew it was fundamentally transformed. The question now is: What's next? How do we take lessons from the pandemic to improve the future of healthcare? How do we ensure gains in telemedicine are not only sustained but advanced to new frontiers in virtual care? And, finally, how do other technologies and innovations help propel care? This MHA program will explore the most pressing issues facing the healthcare system today, and how we can advance technology to have the greatest positive effect for patients. Learn more about this program and register by clicking here.

John LoDico, Editor