Chiropractors in NH may now schedule their vaccination at will. This also includes chiropractic assistants and administrative staff with regular patient contact, such as at the front desk.
Unless you are affiliated with a hospital, you will need to schedule your appointment at a NH-Managed COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic (not at a hospital). Register online using the instructions at the link below.
Access to the vaccine is free. Participation in vaccination is voluntary. Additional considerations may apply for those with a history of immune dysfunction or reaction to other vaccines.
A few instructions based on our experiences so far:
Pre-register at the link above.
You should select “At Risk Health Worker”, then “Front line clinical staff + support staff” from the dropdown lists.
Wait for a scheduling email from CDC staff. This took 1-4 days in my office.
When your registration email comes, register with VAMS. This includes major medical concerns and insurance info.
On the Organization page, under Role type “Chiropractor”, and under Priority choose “Outpatient health care provider”.
You’ll be taken to scheduling a location and time. Be sure to choose a “State of NH” site (not a hospital site) or you will get rescheduled.
On the day of your appointment, arrive with your confirmation text/email and a photo ID.
New Hampshire DHHS Phase 1a vaccine allocation strategy includes (1) health workers with direct human contact, (2) older adults in residential care settings, and (3) emergency first responders. Since chiropractors work in direct patient contact, DHHS has allocated vaccination to us as part of Phase 1a.
As of December 29th, vaccination has begun, but supply is not yet available except for the highest risk groups. Limited doses of vaccine are available and the health worker community will largely self-regulate to ensure that we have enough doses for those at most risk first. Since we do not generally work directly with known COVID-19 patients, chiropractors are broadly considered Moderate Risk health workers (see Phase 1a plan, appendix A). We encourage coordination within practices to make these determinations.
We anticipate that moderate risk health workers including most chiropractors may seek the vaccine around January 15. This includes chiropractic assistants and administrative staff with regular patient contact, such as at the front desk. This will be for the first of a two-dose series, with three weeks between doses.
Unless you are affiliated with a hospital, you will need to schedule your vaccine appointment at a NH-managed COVID-19 vaccination clinic (not at a hospital site). Thirteen sites are arranged regional about the state. You will be able to register online for an appointment.
Access to the vaccine is free. Participation in COVID-19 vaccination is voluntary. Additional considerations may apply for those with a history of immune dysfunction or reaction to other vaccines.
For full details and instructions, please refer to the special notice from the Office of Professional Licensure, which was emailed to all licensees on December 31st. Download it here.
Despite our essential business status, physical distancing strategies decrease demand for chiropractors’ hands-on treatment as people try to stay home more. However, we are able to apply our broad knowledge and skill sets to continue serving the people of NH, even when they aren’t able to reach our offices. Telehealth provides an opportunity to reach people in their homes.
Patient and provider connect by video in a telehealth appointment
There are a broad array of services available for telehealth consults. To hit the ground running, choose one that is affordable and simple to use for you and patients. Free options include Doxy.me, and other options ranging from Google Meet at $12/mo or VSee at $50/mo, to ExamMed and Zoom for Healthcare at $200/mo. The cloud-based EHR Jane, which is popular among chiropractors, integrated a telehealth feature in March in response to increased demand, and we will see this market continue to grow.
Each of the options listed above is HIPAA compliant. However, the US Department of Health and Human Services announced that during the emergency period they have relaxed HIPAA restrictions around remote consults. They are prioritizing getting care to patients, so they’ll honor our good-faith attempts to provide quality care, even if that means using more informal services like FaceTime, Skype, Messenger or Hangouts. In NH, emergency order #8 also interpreted the use of audio-only phone consults as valid telehealth service.
You should also know about billing and regulations. Medicare only covers manipulation codes, so we are excluded from telehealth reimbursement. NH Medicaid plans mostly exclude service from chiropractors, but plans that allow chiropractic are currently expected reimburse for telehealth under emergency order #8. Private insurance plans are expected to reimburse for telehealth consults and guided rehab at the same rate as in-office care, though this may vary. According to ChiroCode, E/M codes will be used most frequently, with level based on time and coded with a -95 modifier. You should brush up on this documentation and coding at the ChiroCode website. Additionally, VP Pence has also encouraged states to create temporary avenues for interstate telehealth, a situation we will continue to monitor.
As front line health care providers, we selflessly serve humanity. And from time to time we as doctors find ourselves amid a public health crisis. Today is such a time.
The outbreak of COVID-19 in the United States is affecting both the way you practice and the business side of practicing. The available information changes by the day and much of it influences our practices. And the available misinformation seems to change even faster. We at the NHCA will try to give you resources to benefit your practice and, of course, your patients.
SPREAD IN NEW HAMPSHIRE
The NH Dept of HHS’ most recent count is 55 confirmed cases in the state as of 3/20/20 at 9 am. Most of these cases are in Rockingham, Hillsborough and Grafton counties. The promised, more widespread, availability of testing may well make this number go up dramatically in the coming week. DHHS website for tracking coronavirus is: www.nh.gov/covid19/
ADVICE TO HEALTHCARE FACILITIES
Kentucky has ordered all DC offices to close, no other state has followed suit and many have declared all doctors’ offices to be essential. Advice from CDC to healthcare facilities can be broken down into two categories:
Screening patients pre-visit:
As of March 16, 2020 CDC recommends asking patients:
Have you traveled outside the state or country in the last 14 days?
Have you had contact with anyone with confirmed COVID-19 in the last 14 days?
Have you had: Fever over 100, Difficulty breathing or a Cough?
If the answer is no to all, then they may be scheduled for an appointment. However, if the answer is yes to the health questions, refer them for testing. If yes to contact or travel questions, then wait 14 days.
Sanitary procedures for healthcare facilities:
Clean tables, armrests and headrests esp. between each patient
Clean chair rails, doorknobs, toilet and sink handles and any other surface patients may touch regularly
Regularly clean those things staff touch regularly, such as keyboards, adding machines, copiers, etc.
Separate and/or remove chairs from reception area to maintain a 6-foot distance between patients (basic test: if two people sit in chairs and reach toward each other, they can’t touch if the chairs are 6 ft apart)
Wearing gloves is optional at this time and masks are generally ineffective unless you are a carrier.
Hand washing for at least 20 seconds is very effective, water temp. is unimportant, the use of soap is what gets rid of the virus.
Avoid face touching.
HIPAA REMINDER – COVID-19 FROM NCMIC
Original article here from NCMIC HIPAA has a special guidance section for what information and to whom that information can be released during an emergency situation. You can review these guidelines as release by US DHHS.
The 18 Protected Health Information (PHI) identifiers include: names, dates (except year), telephone numbers, geographic data, fax numbers, social security numbers, email addresses, medical record numbers, account numbers, health plan beneficiary numbers, certificate/license numbers, vehicle identifiers and serial numbers including license plates, web URLs, device identifiers and serial numbers, internet protocol addresses, full face photos and comparable images, biometric identifiers (i.e. retinal scan, fingerprints), any unique identifying number or code.
HELPFUL LINKS
For up to the minute information from CDC this is a good reference which is more chiro specific:
There is a great amount of fear and trepidation about the current situation so allow patients to cancel their appointments without judgment. Also, some insurers may reimburse for telehealth visits and all may be ordered to soon. A good article on these including coding information are available online.
Finally, if you find you need to lay off staff, they can take advantage of the unemployment guidelines and receive help earlier than usual through NH Employment Security.
Please know those of us at NHCA are here to help. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact us directly or via our social media channels. We wish you all the best of luck and hope you stay safe during these trying times.
