The Medical Society of Delaware's 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting & Educational Program will be held Tuesday November 17th - Thursday November 19th.

Join us for these Zoom meeting events from the comfort of your home! For more details, visit the MSD website.

This year's MSD Educational Program promises to be informative and timely! Focusing on the medical impact of climate change. The presenters will highlight the health and medical economic impact it has made on patients as well as future changes needed.

The Medical Society of Delaware designates this live activity for a maximum of 1.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits ᵀᴹ.

According to the Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH), Delaware has a total of 704 fatalities due to COVID-19, an increase of 16 from last Friday. In addition, 106 individuals are currently hospitalized due to COVID-19 in Delaware.

Update on COVID-19 Outbreaks in Long-term Care Facilities: DPH continues to investigate COVID-19 outbreaks in long-term care facilities throughout the state. Facilities where significant ongoing outbreaks are occurring, as of Oct. 30, 2020: 

Aggregate K-12 School-Related COVID-19 Statistics: Delaware cumulative number of COVID-19 positive students and staff, statewide, who were in-person at a school or child care facility while potentially infectious, reported to DPH between Sept. 1, 2020, and Oct. 30, 2020: 

Read more.

Additional demographic data on COVID-19 cases and deaths, including race/ethnicity, more age-specific data and rates information by ZIP code, and information on Delaware's contact tracing efforts can be found on the Division of Public Health's My Healthy Community data portal. 

The Department of Health and Human services has committed to sending 290,000 Abbott BinaxNOW COVID-19 point of care antigen tests to Delaware. The rapid point of care tests, which can diagnose coronavirus infection in as little as fifteen minutes, are being distributed by the State to support Delaware's testing strategy, beginning with increasing access to testing for K-12 students. To find out more about how to obtain test kits and the protocols to follow, click here.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and two federal agencies are warning of an "imminent cybercrime threat" to U.S. hospitals and health care providers, noting that several hospitals across the country have already been hit. The cyberattacks involve ransomware, which scrambles data into gibberish that can only be unlocked with software keys provided once targets pay up. Independent security experts say it has already affected at least five U.S. hospitals this week, and could potentially impact hundreds more.

Read more.

A rule finalized this week will require health insurers to publicly post, in advance, the price for the most common services and procedures. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said the goal is to bring greater competition to the private health care industry. Patients will eventually have access to new information about cost, including an estimate of their cost-sharing liability, through an internet-based, self-service tool. The requirements will take effect gradually over a four-year period. Read more.

Health and Human Services’ Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) released plans to extend compliance dates for its information-blocking rule until April 5, 2021. Recently a group of health care organizations, including the American Medical Association, wrote a letter to ONC urging them to extend the deadlines. The information blocking rule, with defined exceptions, prohibits health providers, technology vendors, health information exchanges, and health information networks from practices that inhibit the exchange, use, or access of electronic health information (EHI). Read more.

Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LLP is a full-service law firm that offers clients the national reach and sophisticated experience of a large firm and the local connections and value of a boutique firm. This combination of reach and local autonomy supports our clients with the clout of a mega-firm and the service hallmarks of a boutique.

Coverys is a nationally recognized medical professional liability insurer and a leader in helping the medical community address the challenges of healthcare delivery in today’s rapidly changing landscape. In a world of distractions, Coverys is committed to helping healthcare providers and administrators focus on what matters most—providing superior patient care and improving the health of their communities.

Curi (curi.com) is the premier provider of products, services, and experiences for physicians and those who support them. From professional liability and other lines of insurance, to wealth management and advisory services, the company—built by doctors for doctors—has been passionately curious about identifying new ways to meet the ever-evolving needs of physicians since it was founded as Medical Mutual Insurance Company of North Carolina in 1975.

CarePortMD specializes in catalyzing continuity of care by enabling clinicians and patients with retail access, telemedicine, and care coordination services. Their goal is to enable convenient delivery of patient-centric care by taking the headache out of telemedicine for patients and practices alike. CarePortMD provides scheduling services, appointment verification, encounter support and a mobile and web-based video technology platform for physicians and patients to experience seamless 1-click standard telemedicine. When video telemedicine is inadequate, clinicians can schedule patients to be seen remotely at any of our ACME and Safeway-based centers, which feature onsite site pharmacy, live medical technicians, extended hours of operation, diagnostic testing, screening services, EKG, and more.

If you provide Home Health and/or Personal Care services to Delaware Medicaid clients in their homes, the Delaware Medical Assistance Program (DMAP) would like you to participate in a short Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) survey to help determine your training needs and your need for electronic devices. Thank you for your participation. Take survey.

MSD's Membership Department is pleased to announce the newest members of the Medical Society of Delaware. Welcome to the third oldest medical society in the country!

If you know someone interested in joining the Medical Society of Delaware, please contact Michelle Seymour at 302-224-4905 or Michelle.Seymour@medsocdel.org.

MSD members are afforded a seven day review period from the date of this publication to comment regarding an applicant applying for membership. Please contact Mary LaJudice at (302) 224-5183 or Mary.LaJudice@medsocdel.org with any questions or concerns.