MSD has made available the recording of the presentation, as well as the presentation slides, that are accessible on the MSD website.

Register to join the American Medical Association (AMA) for a webinar on Thursday, January 20 at 1:00 p.m. (ET), "Implementing the No Surprises Act." The No Surprises Act, which aims to protect patients from the financial impact of surprise medical billing, became law on January 1. Learn what you need to do immediately to comply with the new law. AMA experts will address implementation of the Act, as well as enforcement challenges and the interaction between state and federal surprise billing requirements. You don’t need to be an AMA member, however, you do need to create a login to register for the webinar.

The Biden-Harris Administration is requiring insurance companies and group health plans to cover the cost of over-the-counter, at-home COVID-19 tests. Individuals with private health coverage can get them for free starting January 15^th. The new coverage requirement means that most consumers with private health coverage can go online or to a pharmacy or store, buy an over-the-counter COVID-19 diagnostic test that is authorized, cleared, or approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and either get it paid for up front by their health plan, or get reimbursed for the cost by submitting a claim to their plan. This requirement incentivizes insurers to cover these costs up front and ensures individuals do not need an order from their health care provider to access these tests for free. Insurance companies and health plans are required to cover eight free over-the-counter at-home tests per covered individual per month. There is no limit on the number of tests, including at-home tests, that are covered if ordered or administered by a health care provider following an individualized clinical assessment, including for those who may need them due to underlying medical conditions. Over-the-counter test purchases will be covered in the commercial market without the need for a health care provider’s order or individualized clinical assessment, and without any cost-sharing requirements such as deductibles, co-payments or coinsurance, prior authorization, or other medical management requirements. 

For more information, please see these Frequently Asked Questions, https://www.cms.gov/files/document/11022-faqs-otc-testing-guidance.pdf

For additional details on the requirements, visit https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/EBSA/about-ebsa/our-activities/resource-center/faqs/aca-part-51.pdf

Delawareans have until Saturday, Jan. 15, to sign up for health coverage for 2022 through Delaware’s Health Insurance Marketplace. For those who enroll by the deadline and pay their first premium, coverage will begin Feb. 1, 2022. Enhanced federal subsidies, which began earlier in 2021 under the Biden administration, will continue for 2022. The subsidies have helped to reduce consumer costs by as much as 40%. State residents can sign up for coverage at www.HealthCare.gov or CuidadodeSalud.gov or by calling 1-800-318-2596 (TTY: 1-855-889-4325). Free assistance in Delaware is available through:

The FDA is warning that dental problems have been reported with medicines containing buprenorphine that are dissolved in the mouth. The dental problems, including tooth decay, cavities, oral infections, and loss of teeth, can be serious and have been reported even in patients with no history of dental issues. Despite these risks, buprenorphine is an important treatment option for opioid use disorder (OUD) and pain, and the benefits of these medicines clearly outweigh the risks.  The FDA is requiring a new warning about the risk of dental problems be added to the prescribing information and the patient Medication Guide for all buprenorphine-containing medicines dissolved in the mouth. Health professionals should ask patients about their oral health history prior to prescribing treatment with a transmucosal buprenorphine medicine. These serious dental problems have been reported even in patients with no history of dental issues, so refer them to a dentist as soon as possible after starting transmucosal buprenorphine. Counsel patients about the potential for dental problems and the importance of taking extra steps after the medicine has completely dissolved, including to gently rinse their teeth and gums with water and then swallow. Patients should be advised to wait at least 1 hour before brushing their teeth. Health professionals are encouraged to report adverse events or side effects related to the use of these products to the FDA's MedWatch Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting Program. 

Fierce Healthcare is reporting the Biden administration is proposing to have Medicare cover the controversial Alzheimer’s disease medication Aduhelm, but only for patients in relevant clinical trials. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released Tuesday a proposed national coverage determination for Medicare to cover drugs that target amyloid for the treatment of mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer’s disease or mild Alzheimer's dementia. However, the decision only extends to patients that are in a qualifying clinical trial. Currently, there is only one drug approved by the FDA in the class: Biogen’s Aduhelm, which was approved last year despite concerns over the drug’s efficacy. The Food and Drug Administration approved Aduhelm last year despite concerns from agency advisers over the drug’s efficacy.

Are you looking to publish your original article, case report, or technical report? MSD has worked with the team of the Cureus Journal of Medical Science and established a designated online "Academic Channel" for MSD on the Cureus site. As an author interested in publishing your work, this new process will make it simpler and keep you informed along the way of the submission process. The streamlined online submission system and efficient editorial review allow you to publish in weeks, not months. And since this is an open access model and published articles are indexed in PubMed Central, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and more, your work has global exposure. The peer review process leverages the collective intelligence of the Cureus community. We invite you to review the new Medical Society of Delaware Academic Channel and consider populating our "Articles" page with work from Delaware physicians. A separate Digital Digest will also be published and distributed via email to members every several months, delivering information about published articles on the site from your peers, as well as other educational information.

If you would like to join the team of peer reviewers on the Academic Channel, we'd love to have you! Please contact Mary LaJudice for more information.

Beebe Healthcare has implemented a postponement of all non-emergent procedures effective Thursday, Jan. 13. The health care organization is taking these measures so that staff and beds can be reassigned for inpatient care. This is directly related to the continued surge in COVID-19 positive patients that require hospitalization and care. Certain procedures and surgeries will continue, including those that screen for progressive diseases such as cancer that could have longer term consequences if not identified for patients. Examples include colonoscopies, biopsies, and endoscopies, as well as access to dialysis. Beebe has indicated it is not yet at the stage where they are forced to adopt Crisis Standards of Care. However, the situation is critical and can change at any moment. Previously, Beebe only postponed elective procedures that required an overnight stay.

R. Lawrence Moss, MD, President and CEO of Nemours Children’s Health has been appointed to the 2022 Children’s Hospital Association (CHA) Board of Trustees. The CHA is the national voice of more than 220 children’s hospitals, advancing child health through innovation in the quality, cost, and delivery of care. Dr. Moss is one of eight hospital leaders around the country to be given this prestigious honor. Paul A. King, President and CEO of Stanford Children's Health in Palo Alto, California, became Chair of the Board of Trustees of the CHA.

On Monday, ChristianaCare, Bayhealth, TidalHealth Nanticoke, and Trinity Health Mid-Atlantic—Saint Francis Hospital are operating under Crisis Standards of Care protocols in order to have the flexibility and decision-making tools needed to deliver the best possible care to our community at this time.

This course module was developed by the "Made to Save" Campaign and will explore a patient-centered approach to COVID-19 vaccine counseling to increase trust, confidence, and vaccine uptake, based on the experience of a national grassroots COVID-19 vaccine education and outreach campaign focused on underserved communities of color. The Yale School of Medicine designates this educational activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) created a free PediaLink course about acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) that includes six short modules on prompt recognition, diagnosis, treatment, and reporting of AFM cases in the US to state and local public health department and the CDC, as well as rehabilitation and long-term care. AFM is a rare but serious neurologic condition that primarily affects children and causes muscle and limb weakness, often leading to permanent paralysis. To learn more and register for free please click on the following link. (Note: Registration for a free AAP account is required to access the course.) Please reach out to Narjis Sayeed, Infectious Diseases Preparedness Program Manager at the American Academy of Pediatrics, with any questions.

Bayhealth Hospital invites health care professionals to attend their Medical Grand Rounds. This regularly scheduled series takes place every fourth Tuesday from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Bayhealth Medical Center in Dover. You can also join via zoom. Registration is required. Upcoming dates for meetings are February 8, March 8, April 5, and May 3, 2022. To join the Zoom by meeting number use Access Code 2435 528 4699 and Password Bayhealth.

Calling all Early Career Physicians! The American College of Physicians Delaware Chapter, the Delaware Academy of Family Physicians, and the Medical Society of Delaware are pleased to present a virtual Town Hall-style event with State Representative Michael F. Smith on February 16, 2022, from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm. This event is being co-sponsored to bring together the primary care physician community in this dialogue. You are being invited to join us to share your thoughts and ideas about health care, as well as to have an opportunity to engage in dialogue with one of our state legislators and learn about healthcare advocacy. There is no charge to participate but we do require registration.

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 MSD, please contact Michelle Seymour at (302) 224-4905 or Michelle.Seymour@medsocdel.org with any questions. You could be eligible for a referral discount!

MSD members are afforded a seven-day review period from the date of this publication to comment regarding applicants for membership. Please contact Michelle Seymour at (302) 224-4905 or Michelle.Seymour@medsocdel.org with any comments.