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Should you stay open or shouldn’t you?  This is a personal and business decision only you can make.  The FCA interpretation of Executive Order 20-72 is that only medically unnecessary, non-urgent or non-emergency procedures or surgeries are prohibited.  This does NOT include chiropractic care.  The Governor’s latest Executive Order falls squarely in line with CMS’s announcement on March 15, 2020, to take measures to preserve essential medical supplies and personal protective equipment necessary to respond to this emergency.
 
The medical care prohibited under this order is:
• Elective or non-medically necessary surgical procedures;
• Surgical procedures that can be postponed without putting the patient’s immediate health, safety or well-being at risk;
• Medical procedures that would consume personal protective equipment, that can be postponed without putting the patient’s immediate health, safety or well-being at risk
 
Read on for information regarding massage therapy and Homeland Security definitions of essential services.  

Arlington, Va., From an ACA Release – The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) reached out this week to the federal government to underscore that the services doctors of chiropractic provide are essential to many patients—including those who continue to provide critical services and support to the pubic during the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
 
As they provide this essential support, chiropractors share the public health responsibility of slowing the transmission of COVID-19. For those who continue to see urgent cases, ACA has recommended that DCs employ strict hygienic practices at every point of patient contact and keep up to date with prevention recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The association has also urged chiropractors to closely monitor state and local health authorities and to comply with any relevant guidance or mandates.

The Department of Health, State Surgeon General, through Emergency Order of March 19, 2020, extended any upcoming professional licensure renewal deadlines between March 21 and April 30, 2020 (including chiropractic licenses) to May 31, 2020, with renewal fees being due that date.  However, the completion of continuing education courses for chiropractic license renewal remains as we previously reported, with an extended completion date of January 1, 2021. 

The renewal team at the Department of Health is currently working to update the system so that licensees can renew without proving completion of CE.  Please be patient while the system is being updated to allow for the extensions made through the DOH Emergency Order.

 

ChiroHealthUSA - an FCA membership benefit partner - is leveraging its infrastructure to provide outstanding resources to the profession to help is coping with the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on chiropractic practitioners nationwide.  They are offering a series of free, live webinars on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of this week as well as on-demand training to help you and your staff prevail in these challenging times.  Visit their invitation to register for topics including:

MIAMI – Today, the U.S. Small Business Administration announced that small businesses located in the State of Florida adversely impacted by COVID-19 can now apply for disaster loans.
 
For small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and most private nonprofit organizations, the SBA is offering Economic Injury Disaster Loans to help meet working capital needs caused by the Coronavirus 
 
All 67 Florida counties are included in the disaster declaration for Coronavirus.

Clarifying the Governor's  Executive Order 20-72

Prohibiting Unnecessary, Non-Urgent or Non-Emergency Procedures or Surgeries

and Broward County Administrator’s Emergency Order 20-01

The FCA continues to get questions on the Governor’s Executive Order from Friday since its last Bulletin.  The FCA interpretation of Executive Order 20-72 is that only medically unnecessary, non-urgent or non-emergency procedures or surgeries are prohibited.  This does NOT include chiropractic care.  The Governor’s latest Executive Order falls squarely in line with CMS’s announcement on March 15, 2020.  

Many FCA members have inquired whether, like other businesses, they are forced to close their doors based upon the Governor’s new Executive Order 20-72, for the safety and health of their employees, or in order to comply with a City or County Declaration / Emergency Order.  While the Governor’s new Executive Order is of some ambiguity and we will continue to seek clarification, the Governor’s press conference, along with the Introduction to EO 20-72, reveals the purpose of the Executive Order is to, “conserve all medical supplies including personal protective equipment, or only that which is necessary to be used in response to this emergency…” At this time, we are recommending that, if a personal decision is made to keep your doors open, at this writing, you are free to do so.
 
Note that the FCA has not reviewed every City or County Declaration / Emergency Order where your answer will also exist.  In those County or City Declarations, you will likely be defined as a healthcare provider or doctor who is exempt from any mandatory closure, but that you are not required (though you may) stay open.  The FCA continues to monitor the Governor’s office for any further Executive Orders on this issue.  Here is what we know:

Governor’s Emergency Order Prompts Fla. Board of Chiropractic Medicine’s Decision 
Tallahassee - In a challenging and unprecedented time in our Nation’s history, the Fla. Board of Chiropractic Medicine earlier today agreed to extend licenses for those chiropractic physicians who, nearly 10 days from the expiration of the biennium deadline, do not have all of their 40 required CE hours for license renewal.  For those who have not yet renewed their Florida licenses, on March 31, 2020, their licenses will be renewed with proper payment, and those who are deficient in hours will have until Jan. 1, 2021 – nine additional months --to complete those hours.   We do not yet know the timing for the administrative steps involved to implement this extension or when you could successfully renew online without having the completed hours.

The U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services and the U.S. Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center have posted a notice about a malicious website related to the coronavirus.  The website pretending to be the live map for Coronavirus COVID-19 Global Cases by Johns Hopkins University is circulating on the internet waiting for unwitting internet users to visit the website. Visiting the website infects the user with the AZORult trojan, an information stealing program which can exfiltrate a variety of sensitive data. It is likely being spread via infected email attachments, malicious online advertisements, and social engineering. Furthermore, anyone searching the internet for a Coronavirus map could unwittingly navigate to this malicious website. 

More Articles ...

  1. Saluting ChiroHealthUSA: More Great Resources on COVID-19
  2. Common Sense Suggestions for Navigating the Coronavirus Crisis
  3. Practical Tools and Links on Coronavirus
  4. A FRIDAY UPDATE TO THOSE ATTENDING CE MAKEUP WEEKEND
  5. From F4CP: Optimizing Performance with Chiropractic
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