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July 17, 2020
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Telemedicine Bill Gets Governor's Signature
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Insurance Commissioner Praises Increase in Access to Health Care
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 Today Governor John Carney signed, via livestream, HS 1 for HB 348, sponsored by Representative David Bentz, which temporarily codifies a number of consumer-friendly provisions developed during COVID-19 that increases access to health care due to expanding telemedicine. These provisions will stay in effect until July 1, 2021. Delaware Insurance Commissioner Trinidad Navarro's office will be issuing a bulletin to Delaware's insurers notifying them of the continued telemedicine requirements. Watch bill signing. |
DPH Partners with Walgreens
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Testing Efforts Increase in First State
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 The Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) has partnered with Walgreens to expand access to COVID-19 testing. DPH will pilot the initiative with drive-thru testing at one location in each county from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily at the following locations:
- New Castle County - Walgreens, 700 S. Ridge Ave., Middletown, DE 19709
- Kent County - Walgreens, 1215 S. State St., Dover, DE 19901
- Sussex County - Walgreens, 9202 Commercial Centre Drive, Bridgeville, DE 19933
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DPH Announces 223 Additional COVID-19 Cases
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13,337 Total Confirmed Cases - 521 Total Deaths in Delaware
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 According to the Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH), Delaware has a total of 521 fatalities due to COVID 19. Individuals who have died ranged in age from 21 to 104 years old. Of those who have died, 249 individuals were from New Castle County, 94 were from Kent County, and 178 were from Sussex County.
The latest Delaware COVID-19 statistics include:
- 13,337 total laboratory-confirmed cases
- New Castle County cases: 5,981
- Kent County cases: 1,978
- Sussex County cases: 5,244
- Unknown: 134
- Age range: 0 to 104
- Hospitalized: 55; Critically ill: 7
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DHSS Releases Strategic Plan Draft
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Public Comment is Welcome
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 After 14 months of analysis, employees and stakeholder online surveys, internal and external focus group interviews, and a focus on strengths and weaknesses of current operations by a strategic planning steering committee, the Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) has released a draft strategic plan to achieve a goal of focusing on person-centered planning and social determinants of health to better integrate and connect the health of the Delaware residents it serves with other behavioral, environmental, social and policy influences. Read report. |
 MSD Past President Richard W. Henderson, MD helped spread the message for Delawarean's to wear their face coverings when in public with a public service announcement (PSA) he recorded at the request of Governor Carney's office. The message is particularly important to Henderson because he contracted COVID-19 several months ago. Watch PSA. |
 MSD member Neil G. Hockstein recently penned a letter to the editor with New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer. The pair weighed in on the ongoing and ever contentious debate about how to safely reopen schools. Dr. Hockstein, a head and neck surgeon, is the Chair of the New Castle County COVID-19 Medical Taskforce and an advisor for Testing for America, a nonprofit organization established by academics, engineers, and entrepreneurs to solve the COVID-19 testing crisis. Read editorial. To To learn more about Testing for America, click here. |
MSD Welcomes New Preferred Telemedicine Partner
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DrFirst Backline Joins Health Hub List of Telemedicine Vendors
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The Medical Society of Delaware is pleased to announce a new preferred partnership with Backline, an award-winning clinical communication, telemedicine platform that gives health care professionals, patients, caregivers, and collaborating clinicians a simple, secure way to share health information in real-time. Start telehealth visits and remote assessments with patients as needed. Collaborate with the care team via secure chat. Send and receive HIPAA-compliant messages, images, files, forms, notifications, reminders, and more-all from your phone or mobile device. Learn more.
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| You are invited to complete the Telehealth Impact Study Provider Questionnaire. The study has been approved by the Mayo Clinic IRB and is part of the efforts of the COVID-19 Healthcare Coalition to address the pandemic. The goal of this project is to learn more about your experience with telehealth to identify the challenges and barriers, as well as the benefits. Take survey. |
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Access to Care for Opioid Use Disorder Survey
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| Physicians who have a DEA DATA-2000 "x-waiver" to prescribe buprenorphine in-office for the treatment of opioid use disorder are invited to participate in a survey to help better understand the challenges associated with providing care for patients with a substance use disorder during the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey is being administered through the Yale Program in Addiction Medicine. The American Medical Association will work with Yale and all of the other groups to analyze and communicate the results. The survey is schedule to remain open for at least the next two weeks. View letter. Take survey. |
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Join the MSD Hero Blood Drive
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 Please join the Medical Society of Delaware in donating life-saving blood. We are inviting you, your staff, friends, and families to schedule a time to donate between July 6th through September 21st. Choose a Blood Bank of Delmarva location close to you and schedule a convenient time. At the time of your donation complete a "Hero Card" by filling in your name and Medical Society of Delaware. Please consider sharing a picture of yourself donating on your social media accounts and tag the Medical Society of Delaware to encourage others. Let's make our blood drive a HUGE success! Read more.
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 Since 1982, Delaware Hospice has committed to its mission of providing the highest quality of hospice care to the communities it serves. At the heart of hospice care is a passionate concern for individuals and their families coping with the most critical time of their lives. Delaware Hospice empowers individuals and their caregivers with education to provide comfort and personal care. They will work to develop a care plan that includes everything from symptom management, which ensures patient's comfort, to emotional and spiritual support. Their goal is to provide a holistic approach that considers the combined medical, personal, emotional and spiritual needs of the individual, who, along with loved ones, are living with a life-limiting illness. For more information. |
Check Out MSD's Facebook Page
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Useful, Timely Information You Can Use
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 MSD's Facebook page is another way for you to receive important information and updates. Features include podcasts from MSD physicians, nutritional information and fun facts. Look for "The Weekender" post every Friday with events happening around Delaware for the whole family! Please visit and start following your MSD Facebook page.
Calling all MSD members... We would love to "Spotlight" you on our Facebook page. Please contact Lynn Robinson at [email protected]. |
Welcome New MSD Resident Members
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Sydney D. Ford, MD -
ChristianaCare - OB/GYN residency
Courtney K. Pfeuti, MD -
ChristianaCare - OB/GYN residency
Joseph A. Sciacca, DO -
ChristianaCare - General Surgery residency
Kathryn G. Vollum, MD -
ChristianaCare - OB/GYN residency
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| MSD's Membership Department is pleased to announce the newest resident members of the Medical Society of Delaware. Welcome to the third oldest medical society in the country! |
Arielle M. Brackett, MD
Brittney E. Bunkis, MD
Young D. Cho, DO
Mehir Desai, DO
Daniel R. Doherty, MD
Amanda Eberhardt, MD
Kellie Forbes, MD
Jessica R. Gailing, MD
Angelica Gangemi, MD
Stephen D. Gragg, MD
Madison Harris, DO
Nicholas J. Jennelly, MD
Rina R. Joshi, DO
Nicholas L. Luibil, DO
Daniel S. Mackey, DO, MPH
Tyler C. McDonald, MD
Julia L. Merriam, MD
John T. Nawrocki, MD
Katie N Parisio, DO
Saran V. Patel, DO
Sean A. Petro, DO
Erin E. Royal, MD
Jeffrey C. Sim, DO
Isabella Slaby, DO
Devin M. Sullivan, DO
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| 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 [email protected] with any questions or concerns. |
The Latin phrase
Rerum Cognoscere
translates to learn, examine, or become aware of facts or things. In this section we highlight measurable items of interest in health care from MSD, Delaware, the US, and the world.
3,592,316
Total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States as of July 17, 2020.
Johns Hopkins University
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138,543
Total number of confirmed COVID-19 deaths in the United States as of July 17, 2020.
Johns Hopkins University
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988
The newly approved national three digit suicide prevention hotline number to go into effect by July 16, 2022.
Federal Communications Commission
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Was the information in this newsletter useful? If so, forward to a friend to let them know the value of your Medical Society of Delaware membership.
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