Response to New York Times
AAD President Bruce H. Thiers, MD, sent a response to the New York Times on Friday regarding its article, “Many Dermatology Practices Stay Open, Ignoring Public Health Pleas”:
Your recent article, “Many Dermatology Practices Stay Open, Ignoring Public Health Pleas,” correctly notes that the American Academy of Dermatology’s guidance to members urges them to postpone non-essential procedures and see patients who have urgent questions about their skin conditions via telehealth during the COVID-19 crisis. Like the guidance of the CDC, ours states that the decision to treat is left to the individual patient and physician. Our 20,500 members understand that the public’s health is the top priority during this unprecedented crisis.
Dermatologists are committed to providing the highest quality patient care and take this responsibility very seriously. The decision of what type of care is warranted and how it should be provided should be made by the patient and their dermatologist. It would be a mistake to judge the majority of dermatologists by the outliers.
New guidance on spironolactone, other updates
The AAD Ad Hoc Task Force on COVID-19 reviewed and approved new clinical guidance this week, “Guidance on the use of medications during COVID-19 outbreak.” The new guidance expands on the AAD’s recommendations regarding biologics use, addressing the continuation of other immunosuppressants during the pandemic and specifically dealing with concerns around spironolactone.
In addition, the task force approved updates to the AAD’s clinic preparedness document that reflect new CDC guidance and recommend that patients coming in for urgent appointments wear cloth masks and specifically not use facemasks intended for medical personnel.
HHS clarifies relief payment rules
What we’re hearing: Some members expressed concern about a condition included in the attestation that accompanied the relief payment from Medicare last week related to providing care to COVID-19 patients.
What we’ve learned: HHS has a broad interpretation of who is eligible to accept these payments: “If you ceased operation as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, you are still eligible to receive funds so long as you provided diagnoses, testing, or care for individuals with possible or actual cases of COVID-19. Care does not have to be specific to treating COVID-19. HHS broadly views every patient as a possible case of COVID-19.” HHS has assembled a full list of rules and conditions for the relief payment.
New resource for physicians prescribing hydroxychloroquine for lupus
What we’re hearing: It’s hard to find hydroxychloroquine for lupus patients.
What we’re doing: The Academy has joined with the Lupus Foundation of America, the American College of Rheumatology, and the Arthritis Foundation to advocate for access on behalf of lupus patients at all levels of government and the drug supply chain. In addition, to help members identify sources of the medication, the Academy has arranged for members to be able to access the Alliance for Pharmacy Compounding’s password-protected hydroxychloroquine website to see listings of compounding pharmacies with supply who are dispensing to lupus (as well as rheumatoid arthritis) patients. The username is info@a4pc.org and the password is hcqlist2020.
Academy advocates for telemedicine reimbursement
What we’re hearing from members: Inconsistent rules from private insurers around telemedicine, coding, billing, and reimbursement are creating unnecessary confusion and burden for physicians transitioning to a telemedicine care model.
What we’re doing: The AADA is leading the effort to advocate with insurers, including launching a sign-on letter to America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) and Blue Cross Blue Shield Association requesting payment parity for telemedicine with in-person visits during the pandemic and standardization of coding requirements across the industry in line with Medicare’s rules. 104 national and state medical specialty organizations have joined the Academy’s effort.
The AAD will continue to track COVID-19 developments, along with member issues and experiences, and provide updates on telehealth, small business relief, clinical guidance, and more via email and at www.aad.org/coronavirus.
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