With the world in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic, Rockpointe, a leading continuing medical education (CME) provider, has developed in partnership with the Maryland State Medical Society and the Maryland Nurses Association an on-demand CME/CPE/CNE Accredited COVID-19 introductory webcourse for office based practices. The course will prepare healthcare providers who work in an ambulatory-care setting to properly manage patients who present to their outpatient facility with symptoms of COVID-19 and is designed to be a practical guide for clinicians who work in outpatient settings, such as ambulatory-care offices, clinics, or urgent-care facilities. The activity, “COVID-19 in the Ambulatory Care Setting,” is jointly provided by the Potomac Center for Medical Education (PCME) and Rockpointe. The Maryland Nurses Association (MNA) is the provider of nursing contact hours. This free 1.5-hour webcourse is now available on-demand for the next 12 months on the Rockpointe website, www.rockpointe.com.
Cases of COVID-19, also known as Wuhan Coronavirus, the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, have soared past 800,000 worldwide and past 150,000 in the United States, with over 35,000 deaths around the globe.
On March 11, WHO labeled COVID-19 a pandemic and on March 13, the President declared COVID-19 a national emergency. The complete clinical picture of COVID-19 is not fully understood, but SARS-CoV-2 has been demonstrated to have asymptomatic person-to-person transmission. The illness has a range of severity from mild to fatal, and this threat to public health is the greatest challenge of our generation.
While there has been much information available regarding identification and management of patients with COVID-19 who present to hospitals, Rockpointe and their partner organizations realized that very few resources have been offered for healthcare providers who work in the outpatient setting – including physicians, nurses, and pharmacists. With point of care testing now coming online “How should a healthcare provider proceed when a patient comes to a private office, clinic, or urgent-care facility with a presentation consistent with COVID-19? A great many patients will take this route as opposed to going to a hospital first, and we wanted to provide accredited resources for this exact situation, to help curb this emerging health crisis” says Tom Sullivan, President of Rockpointe Corporation.
To help outpatient clinicians handle COVID-19 cases, Anthony D. Harris, MD, MPH, a Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of Maryland, and Karen Hoffmann, RN, MS, CIC, FSHEA, FAPIC, an Infection Prevention Consultant and Clinical Instructor at the University of North Carolina, have provided the most current information on how to address patients who present with symptoms of COVID-19 in an ambulatory-care office. Topics include what to do about patient isolation in the office; what specimens to obtain, how to obtain them, and where to send them to be tested; how and to whom a potential case should be reported; deciding on patient disposition; and cleaning and disinfecting after the patient leaves. The activity is intended for U.S. and Canadian healthcare professionals who manage patients in the ambulatory care setting.
This program is designed to address Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and National Academy of Medicine (NAM) competencies, including delivering patient-centered care and practicing evidence-based medicine. At its conclusion, participants should be able to:
- Develop protocols that address the situation of a patient with suspected COVID-19 in the ambulatory-care setting, including a private office, clinic, or urgent-care facility.
- Indicate which specimens to obtain from a patient with suspected COVID-19 and send those samples to a laboratory capable of testing them.
- Determine an appropriate disposition for a patient suspected of having COVID-19.
- Describe measures needed to clean and disinfect the office after a patient suspected of having COVID-19 departs.
This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of the Potomac Center for Medical Education (PCME) and Rockpointe. The Maryland Nurses Association (MNA) is the provider of nursing contact hours. Collaborating organizations include MedChi, the Maryland Medical Society; the American Lung Association; the American Nurses Association (ANA); and the CME Coalition. This activity is not supported by any commercial interest or grantor.
As an ACCME-accredited provider, PCME will provide the AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ for this program. Physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and nurses may participate and earn a certificate of completion, as AAPA, AANP, and ANCC accept AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ through their reciprocity agreements.
As an ACPE-accredited provider, PCME will provide the pharmacy contact hours (CEUs) for the enduring webcourse.
This nursing continuing professional development activity was approved by the Maryland Nurses Association, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.
MedChi is working in collaboration with Rockpointe and PCME on this activity. According to Thomas Sullivan, President of Rockpointe, “our goal in partnering with MedChi for this webcourse is to help dispel some of the myths and misinformation associated with this deadly emerging disease and provide practical guidance to clinicians who may encounter infected patients or patient concerns.”
To begin the course on COVID-19, go to https://www.rockpointe.com/courses/covid-19-in-the-ambulatory-care-setting-a-practical-guide-for-the-multidisciplinary-team-2/ or click here.
About Rockpointe
Through effective continuing medical education, PCME parent company Rockpointe strives to improve and advance the quality of patient care. Its educational programs have been at the forefront of new issues in healthcare, including implementing MACRA, combating the nation’s opioid and vaping crises, and utilizing technical advances that improve care. As part of its commitment to quality, Rockpointe works to inform the continuing-education community of significant quality-improvement issues through news and analysis on Policy and Medicine. In addition, its popular Medical Education Exchange (MEDX) CME regional meetings include sessions on the basics of quality improvement and alternative payment models, as well as relevant and scientifically accurate sessions on numerous disease states. All sessions include links back to associated National Quality Priorities to reinforce the bigger picture and the triple aim of: 1) improving health and 2) lowering cost to 3) better the patient experience. At Rockpointe, education equals quality.
About MedChi
The Maryland State Medical Society, MedChi, is a statewide professional association for licensed physicians, whose mission is to serve as Maryland’s foremost advocate and resource for physicians, their patients, and the public health. MedChi strives to accomplish their mission by promoting medical and science knowledge, enhancing the physician-patient relationship, achieving the highest standards for medical education and medical ethics, promoting physician collegiality, and securing universal access to healthcare. MedChi’s House of Delegates includes member representation from each of MedChi’s component medical societies and Maryland’s medical specialty societies. https://www.medchi.org.
