Provider Alert! THSteps Medical and Dental Checkups during COVID-19
Attention: Primary Care Providers
Effective Date: October 22, 2020
The content in this message expired on October 23, 2020, as announced by the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC).
TCHP COVID-19 Utilization Management Procedure and TCHP provider alerts can be found here: http://www.thecheckup.org/provider-alerts/
Providers should monitor the Texas Children’s Health Plan (TCHP) Provider Portal regularly for alerts and updates associated to the COVID-19 event. TCHP reserves the right to update and/or change this information without prior notice due to the evolving nature of the COVID-19 event.
Call to action: TCHP aligns with the guidance from Health and Human Services Commissions’ (HHSC) regarding THSteps medical and dental checkups. To limit exposure to COVID-19 and allow providers to focus on acute care, HHSC encourages medical and dental providers to make decisions on adjusting clinical operations based on professional medical judgement and/or guidance from professional medical and dental authorities. Consideration for the exposure risk of COVID- 19 at the local and community level should be a decision factor.
How this impacts providers: Operational changes a provider may want to consider in their daily office operations may include the following:
- Postponing certain checkups
- Limiting checkups to certain times of day
- Dedicating specific exam rooms for sick and well visits
- Prioritizing visits for younger patients, especially those due for routine vaccines
Department of Family and Protective Services exam information:
Providers are encouraged to continue providing in-person medical exams for children entering the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) conservatorship (3-day exam). This is an opportunity to have a child new to DFPS conservatorship seen by a health care provider. These medical visits are very important for the new caregiver to have information about the child’s health.
Next steps for providers: Providers should adhere to the guidance from HHSC and adjust their practice operations accordingly in order to reduce COVID-19 exposure to patients and their staff.
Resources:
American Academy of Pediatrics
If you have any questions, please email Provider Network Management at: providerrelations@texaschildrens.org.
For access to all provider alerts, log into:
www.thecheckup.org or www.texaschildrenshealthplan.org/for-providers.
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