On March 1, 2022,  The Food and Drug Administration alerted  health care providers and the public to three COVID-19 antigen tests that are not authorized or approved for distribution or use in the United States. Due to the potential for false results, FDA said providers should consider retesting patients with an authorized test if these tests were performed less than two weeks ago and they suspect an inaccurate result. (Source: American Hospital Association )

In response to the ongoing COVID-19 public health emergency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) is implementing three new diagnosis codes into the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM) for reporting COVID-19 vaccination status, effective April 1, 2022.

Healthy Blue, an NC Medicaid Pre-Paid Health Plan, has updated its Healthy Blue Provider page to include a 'Known Issues Bulletin' of issues the PHP is working to resolve.

Each of the 15-minute activities uses the Results-Based Accountability framework of 'Turn the Curve' thinking, and can be taken at your own pace from a computer, tablet or smartphone.

If you are not already connected and using the NCCARE360 platform, now is the time to learn more! Join Meghan Knight, Community Engagement Manager for a free information session to learn how you can easily connect your patients to community resources.

A recent study of 87 primary care encounters found that providers used at least 1 type of medical jargon without explaining it to patients in nearly 80% of appointments, with an average of more than 4 uses of jargon per visit. Fewer than half of the terms were explained, and overall, providers used a jargon term about once every 4 minutes!

Falls Prevention Awareness Week is a national health campaign observed on the first day of fall to increase awareness around falls health and injury prevention. Join us September 20-24, 2021 for Falls Prevention Week, a nationwide effort to raise awareness that falls are preventable. Read more on our blog and check out our online Falls Prevention activity!

A study from April 2021 sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation revealed some startling facts about ways we are missing the mark to address vaccine hesitancy among adults aged 18-64.  

As a clinician working in an outpatient setting, are you confident in how and when to appropriately screen patients for falls?  

Northwest AHEC has partnered with North Carolina AHEC and Unite Us to deliver an educational series aimed at educating Healthcare Professionals about a new tool for providing holistic patient centered care.