SOME of Us Non-Essentials May be Able to Get Back on the Road!

by  Christine Woolstenhulme, QMC QCC CMCS CPC CMRS
Apr 20th, 2020

The day is coming when the freeways will have 5:00 pm stop-and-go traffic again, no doubt. However, when it comes to re-opening our world, CMS has recommendations!

Changes are finally here; we are starting to see a decline in COVID-19 cases in some states and certain locations. It may be time to make that dentist appointment you have been avoiding. Part 1 in the Trump Administration’s guidelines for opening America again recommends providing essential non-COVID-19 care to patients without symptoms of COVID-19 in these areas of low risk. While we were complying with CMS’ recommendations to postpone non-essential procedures, the world was beginning to heal. CMS is talking about a gradual transition and encourages health officials to coordinate with local and state public health officials to ensure you are ready and have the following available.

• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
• Workforce availability
• Facility readiness
• Testing capacity

Some changes may be a new normal, for example, CMS states: “Providers and patients are still highly encouraged to continue to utilize virtual care for services that can be managed via remote appointments to continue limiting the risk of exposure and spread of this virus.”

For more information, the new recommendations can be found here: https://www.cms.gov/files/document/covid-flexibility-reopen-essential-non-covid-services.pdf

The guidelines for Opening Up America Again can be found here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/openingamerica/#criteria