• CMG held its first "Zoom" annual meeting yesterday. Many thanks to the 177 CMG members and administrators who attended. We hope to have everyone back together in-person next year!

• We are following the status of Coronavirus vaccine efforts closely and are working to ensure CMG clinicians and staff have timely access based upon their prioritization. Information is still developing and we will have more details as they develop. Here is some of what we know so far:
• Initial supplies of Pfizer's vaccine may be shipped as soon mid-December.
• Hospitals will receive the initial allocations and be responsible for administering to their medical staff.
• YNHH has confirmed that all medical staff at any system hospital, including CMG members will be part of the initial wave. Details on how to schedule vaccines will be forthcoming. We are confirming the process for other hospitals.
• The process for vaccinating the remainder of CMG's patient facing clinicians and staff has not been clearly defined at this time. More updates when information becomes available.
• Details for other populations are still being developed.

• Testing capacity has become significantly more strained this week. Commercial labs are experiencing much longer turn around times. YNHH has announced that they will begin to use outside reference labs for all asymptomatic patients. This will result in longer turnaround times. Hospitalized patients, pre-procedure testing, all Healthcare worker tests, and symptomatic patients will be processed locally with better turnaround times.

• Please see today's summary from the CDC and DPH here. 

• CMG is once again providing Human Resource hotline support to its members at no charge. We have again retained our preferred HR vendor, Human Resource Consulting Group to provide these services as they did during the initial wave. The available services are limited and will be similar to those we offered in the spring, which were very helpful to many practices. Please reach out directly to Robin Imbrogno with your HR questions or concerns.

• CMG is in the process of upgrading its website to allow easy access to fee schedule information. You can also email FeeSched@communitymedgroup.org and request fee schedule information, which we will provide you in a convenient format tailored for your practices specialty.

• Changes to evaluation and management coding guidelines are set to take effect in January. CMG has created an educational webinar to guide you through those changes. It will be held on Thursday, December 10th, 2020 at 12:00 PM via Zoom. Click here to register.

• Attached is an updated excel sheet with telemedicine billing codes and coverage guidelines. (Please note: This excel sheet is updated regularly and posted on our COVID-19 website page.

• All COVID- 19 Clinical Guidelines, Telemedicine Policies, Helpful Links, and more are updated regularly on our website.