It’s Wednesday and time for your

NCMS Morning Rounds.

  April 29, 2020

AMA Issues Ethics Guidance During Pandemic

Yesterday, the same day that the NCMS, NC Healthcare Association and the NC Institute of Medicine offered a webinar for clinicians on the crisis standard of care protocol jointly agreed upon by a broad group of stakeholders in North Carolina, the American Medical Association (AMA) announced ethics guidance for physicians and PAs as they may face challenging situations during this pandemic.

A recording of Tuesday evening’s webinar will be available shortly. Watch your NCMS Morning Rounds for a link.

The AMA’s Code of Medical Ethics is as relevant in the context of a public health crisis as it is in more familiar circumstances of clinical practice, the Association said in a press release. To help physicians address the challenges of COVID-19, the AMA assembled a series of analyses that apply the Code to issues emerging in the pandemic. Review the analyses here.

These issue-specific analyses range widely, offering guidance not only about allocating limited resources, but also responsible prescribing in the context of the pandemic, the importance of research ethics in the accelerated search for effective treatments for COVID-19, and issues of access to care and equity. New analyses are posted as questions continue to emerge.

As an editorially independent journal, the AMA Journal of Ethics has also created a COVID-19 Ethics Resource Center that includes expert analyses, visual assets, podcasts and video content. Access these resources here.

Joint Survey Gathers Info on Your Financial Needs

The NCMS along with the NC Medical Group Management Association (NCMGMA) and Curi have been sending a weekly survey – Urgent Practice Survey – for the last month to gather information on what physician and PA practices are experiencing during this pandemic. This week’s quick survey focuses more heavily on your financial needs. If you haven’t already responded, please take just three minutes now to complete the survey.

Thank you to those who have been diligent over the past weeks in providing your input via this survey. We are analyzing the data and will provide an overview to you shortly.

The NCMS, NCMGMA and Curi will use the information to inform our advocacy agenda and develop resources to help you.

Take this week’s survey.

National Infant Immunization Week Highlights Need

National Infant Immunization Week, which will run until this Saturday, May 2, focuses on the positive impact of vaccination on the lives of infants and children. The NCMS supports routine immunizations as integral to our mission of protecting and improving the health of North Carolinians. Health care professionals are on the front lines of the fight against vaccine-preventable diseases.

The observance of this week is even more important during the current pandemic as parents may be reluctant to visit their physician or PA’s practice and indicators are that foregoing the regular immunization schedules for kids may lead to outbreaks of preventable disease.This New York Times article from last week offers a perspective on the current situation of parents foregoing well visits and immunizations for their children.

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) research, parents consistently identify health care professionals as their most trusted source of health and immunization information. Research also shows that many parents make vaccine decisions before their babies are even born.

This week, please remind parents and pregnant women about the importance of on-time infant immunization. The CDC, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians offers this Provider Resources for Vaccine Conversations with Parents. Other resources include: Talking with Parents about Vaccines for Infants and Preparing for Questions Parents May Ask about Vaccines. In addition, CDC has a slide deck you can use to with staff to discuss how to create a culture of immunization in your practice.

The CDC estimates that routine immunization of children born between 1994 and 2018 will prevent an estimated 419 million illnesses, 26.8 million hospitalizations, and 936,000 early deaths over their lifetimes, at a net savings of $406 billion in direct costs and $1.88 trillion in total economic impact.

In the News

What the Coronavirus Crisis Reveals About American Medicine, The New Yorker, 4-27-20

Learning Opportunity

This week’s NCMS Foundation Kanof Institute for Physician Leadership’s Power Hour on Friday, May 1, from 1 to 2 p.m. will focus on the challenges various specialty practices are facing during the current pandemic and what the future may hold. Join the conversation with Craig Burkhart, MD, and Susan Sanders, MD, both past presidents of the NC Dermatology Association; Sarah Koch, MD, and Dhwani Mehta, MD, from the Dermatology Group of the Carolinas; Janelle Rhyne, MD, a past Governor of the NC Chapter, American College of Physicians and Gaurang Palikh, MD, President of the North Carolina Neurological Society. Moderated by NCMS VP Rural Health Systems Innovation Franklin Walker, MBA, you will have the opportunity to listen and converse about their respective experiences so far during the pandemic and what they envision going forward for their respective specialties. Learn more and register here.

PLEASE NOTE: There is an UPDATED LINK for today’s webinar at noon on ‘Geriatric Medicine and COVID-19: Optimizing Care for Older Adults in a Time of Pandemic’ with Cathleen Colon-Emerec, MD, Chief, Duke Division of Geriatric Medicine. Click here to access the webinar. The event number is 668 538 149 and the password is KnT2pwR7zy6.