The Medical Society of Delaware's 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting & Educational Program will be held Tuesday November 17th - Thursday November 19th. This year's education program will focus on the medical implication of climate change.

The first 40 to register by November 1st for the Council Meeting will be provided a “Swag Care Package!”  

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

If you have questions, please contact Mary LaJudice at Mary.LaJudice@medsocdel.org. 

According to the Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH), Delaware has a total of 662 fatalities due to COVID-19, an increase of 11 from last Friday. In addition, 104 individuals are currently hospitalized due to COVID-19 in Delaware. The seven-day average for the percentage of persons who tested positive for COVID-19 decreased from 6.6% as of Oct. 8th, to 5.5% as of Thursday, Oct. 15th. 

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. 15, 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. 8, 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. 

Download the free COVID Alert DE mobile app for Apple or Google. To date there are more than 48,800 Delawareans using this useful tool in the fight against COVID-19. For more information.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) added 11 procedures, including various types of heart and lung services, to its list of telehealth services it will pay for throughout the pandemic. The newly added services include certain neurostimulator analysis and programming services and cardiac and pulmonary rehab services. The additions mean Medicare will pay for a total of 144 telehealth services. Learn more.

Due to the rise in cases and hospitalizations, Beebe Healthcare has reinstituted stricter visiting policies to all care locations. Patients admitted to the main hospital at the Margaret H. Rollins Lewes Campus will no longer be permitted one well visitor for the safety of patients and caregivers.

Emergency department, same day surgery, and outpatient cardiac catheterization are permitted one well visitor in that area of the hospital for the duration of their visit. All visitor must be 18 years of age or older and wear a mask at all times. Read more.

Starting January 1, 2021 Delaware Electronic Prescribing law will change, affecting how medications, including controlled substances, are prescribed for patients. Delaware is transitioning from written to electronic prescriptions and will now require e-prescribing, with some exceptions. The federal Substance Use-Disorder Prevention That Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities Act mandates e-prescribing for all controlled substances covered under Medicare Part D, with a few exceptions. In Delaware, House Bill 115 expands this requirement to all prescriptions, with certain exceptions. For more information.

The Delaware Care Collaboration, an Accountable Care Organization (ACO) and member of Trinity Health Mid-Atlantic, whose partners include the Medical Society of Delaware and Saint Francis Healthcare, and also a new affiliation with the New Castle County Physicians Organization, saved $5 million in health care costs for Medicare patients in performance year 2019, and scored well in quality measures (92.17%), according to data released by the Centers for Medicare and & Medicaid in its 2019 Performance Results and Quality Report. Read more.

Delaware’s mortality rate for all cancer sites combined (all-site cancer) declined 10 percent between the five-year periods of 2002-2006 and 2012-2016, according to the latest cancer data released by the Division of Public Health (DPH). In the same time span, Delaware’s all-site cancer mortality rate also declined for African-American males and females and Hispanic females. Additionally, mortality rates decreased for female breast, colorectal, lung, prostate, and Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. Read more.

The September/October Delaware Medical Journal is now available online. This issue features a tribute to the Medical Society of Delaware members who were honored as peer-chosen "Top Doctors" in Delaware Today Magazine. Read about Tramadol as an analgesic, subcentimeter lung cancers, a report on the accuracy and reliability of measurement tools in the assessment of femoral and tibial torsion, as well helpful information on HRAs, and advice on how to keep patients engaged during the age of COVID-19. Read DMJ.

The Medical Society of Delaware is actively looking for scientific and educational articles for publication in the Delaware Medical Journal. These articles can be case reports, clinical experiences, observations, and information on matters relevant to the practice of medicine. For more information contact Mary Fenimore at 302-521-7650 or email

mary.fenimore@medsocdel.org. Read Instructions to Authors.

Mark your calendar for the next Practice Management Education lunchtime webinar on Wednesday, October 28th from 12:00 – 1:00 pm. This session, Connect to Lead: Caring for Yourself and Others During COVID-19, presented by Curi, will provide an overview of how to recognize major factors influencing work-life balance and the key drivers of burnout. For more information.

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.