Dear Colleagues,
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COVID-19 Cases: |
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BMC Total Inpatients |
120 |
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BMC Inpatients Requiring ICU Care |
13 |
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Cumulative Staff Who Have Tested Positive |
2,717 (41 new since 1/18) |
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Massachusetts Cases |
1,404,214 |
Click to see the most up-to-date city, state, and national numbers: Boston | Massachusetts | United States
NEW: Changes to Weekend Employee COVID-19 Testing Location
COVID-19 testing for employees will be available on Saturday and Sunday through the end of January at the 710 Albany St. garage, across Albany St. from the Talbot building. Employees can go to this location between 7:30 a.m. and noon for both symptomatic and asymptomatic testing, no appointment necessary. Both drive-through (via the garage) and walk-through (via the street level entrance) options are available.
Weekday symptomatic and asymptomatic testing will continue in the Power Plant parking lot. Please visit the Hub for hours and more details, including how to schedule a testing appointment.
NEW: Updating Patient COVID-19 Status for Tests Done Outside of BMC
With many patients doing at-home testing or testing at sites outside of BMC, it is important to note their current COVID-19 status if we become aware of these test results.
- Testing done at other Epic institutions will be automatically reconciled into the patient’s chart.
- For other results, after confirming the type, date, and result with the patient, please enter the external result into Epic using the process found here. Be sure to choose the appropriate result depending on whether the test was PCR or antigen.
External COVID-19 tests added by clinicians will be visible to anyone reviewing the chart, and will trigger the red “COVID banner” in their chart. The banner will self-resolve after 20 days. As a reminder, patients who have met clinical criteria for clearance from isolation (e.g., 10 days since symptom onset and no longer symptomatic) are appropriate for in-person ambulatory visits, although the banner may still be red in some cases.
NEW: Ambulatory Therapeutics for COVID-19 Now Available at BMC
As of this week, ambulatory treatments for COVID-19 are now live and available at Boston Medical Center to all prescribers. In the next few days, we will be expanding the central team that reviews positive results for patients tested at BMC and proactively reaches out to patients to prescribe appropriate medications when clinically indicated. However, if providers are contacted by patients or otherwise aware of positive COVID results, they can and should prescribe oral antivirals or refer the patients for monoclonal antibodies when appropriate.
The following ambulatory therapeutics are available at BMC:
- Oral antivirals: Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir co-packaged with ritonavir) and Molnupiravir
- Monoclonal antibodies: Sotrovimab
These therapeutics are approved for treatment of patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 infection who are at risk for progression to severe disease. Additional information on these treatments can be found in the Ambulatory Treatment for COVID-19 document on the COVID clinical resources page of the Hub.
Decisions for treatment when supplies of sotrovimab and oral antivirals are limited should be based on population tiering, as well as date of symptom onset, patient characteristics, and contraindications outlined in the Ambulatory Treatment for COVID-19 resource.
Using the tiering and prescribing guidance, providers can prescribe oral antivirals or refer patients for monoclonal antibodies.
- Paxlovid and molnupiravir: Providers can prescribe in Epic (refer to tipsheet)
- Sotrovimab infusion: Providers can email covidinfusion@bmc.org with patient name, date of birth, best contact phone number, and tier for which the patient qualifies. ILI and ED providers can make same day referrals via phone.
- Information for prescribers external to Boston Medical Center can be found on BMC.org.
UPDATED: Changes to Moakley Operating Room Outpatient Operations
Based upon our current projections, we are now planning for normal outpatient operations in the Moakley operating room to resume on Monday, January 31. Until that time, we will continue performing essential outpatient operations only.
As of Monday, January 31, we will resume normal block scheduling in the Moakley operating room for all outpatient operations that are ordinarily conducted in this location. Departments will continue to review cases for prioritization.
In accordance with the current MA guidelines, operations that require inpatient care will not resume, except for urgent and emergency procedures, as we have been doing. Ramp-up plans for non-urgent/emergency inpatient operations are underway, with an initial focus on postponed essential operations, and we will be guided by state mandates, our in-patient census and projections, and staffing.
REMINDER: At-Home COVID-19 Tests Available – How to Get Reimbursed and Access Free Tests from the Federal Government
As of January 15, at-home COVID antigen test kits are now fully covered through health insurance:
- Each covered family member will have access to eight diagnostic tests per month.
- The reimbursement amount is up to $12 per test. Most kits contain two tests, so reimbursement would be up to $24 per box.
If you are in a BMC group medical plan (BMC Select, BMC Tiered HMO, HPHC PPO), you must submit your test kit receipts to the pharmacy manager, Express Scripts Inc. (ESI) for reimbursement. For now, please keep receipts for any test purchased on or after January 15 for reimbursement. We expect that tests will be covered with no out-of-pocket expenses beginning later this month, and will share more information when it becomes available.
If you are planning on submitting for reimbursement, do not use your flexible spending account card to purchase a test kit, as that would make your purchase ineligible for reimbursement.
In addition to insurance coverage for at-home tests, four free at-home COVID-19 tests are available for each residential address in the U.S. Tests can be requested by visiting COVIDTests.gov.
REMINDER: COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Workplace Requirement
Boston Medical Center is following CDC guidance and requiring all employees and LIPs receive a booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. This includes individuals working off-site (at-home, out-of-state, and off-campus), residents, students, interns, vendors, volunteers, and on-site contracted personnel.
In order to meet the compliance requirement and maintain employment at BMC, you must receive the COVID-19 booster or an approved exemption by March 28, 2022. In the event that March 28 is sooner than five months after your second dose of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine or two months after your J&J vaccine, your due date will be the Monday after the date when you become eligible for the booster.
Full compliance includes ensuring that your booster vaccination status is recorded in the Employee Health Portal. You can find detailed information about recording your booster status on the COVID-19 Vaccination Compliance page on the Hub.