Maryland Chapter of NADONA
News
Kohl Bill Would Allow Nurse to be Prescriber's Agent
Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI) has introduced the Nursing Home Resident Pain Relief Act of 2011. The legislation is intended to help address the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) enforcement on oral prescribing of Schedule II controlled substances in long-term care facilities and to allow the nurse to serve as an agent or facility designee of the prescribing physician.
National Healthcare Decisions Day - Your Decisions Matter
The National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD) Initiative is a collaborative effort of national, state and community organizations committed to ensuring that all adults with decision-making capacity in the United States have the information and opportunity to communicate and document their healthcare decisions. For more information see:
http://www.nationalhealthcaredecisionsday.org/takeaction/join_us
CMS Corrects MDS 3.0 Manual Error
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will be issuing a correction to its MDS 3.0 RAI Manual. Chapter 3, Section O, Page O-40 Item O0700: Physician Orders contained wording added in error. In the first bullet under Coding Tips and Special Populations, the last sentence “Cannot be an employee of the facility” was added in error and should be ignored. CMS reports that the sentence will be dropped in the next revision of the manual scheduled for Spring 2012.
Corporate Supporters
We gratefully thank and acknowledge our Corporate Supporters who help support many of our activities: Amgen, RemediRx, sanofi-aventis, Avanir Pharmaceuticals, Infinite Wound Care, and sanofi-pasteur.
Please take the time to thank your vendors for their support of your chapter.
CDC Guidance on the Use of Influenza Antiviral Agents and Rapid Influenza Diagnostic Tests During the 2010-2011 Influenza Season
Summary
As influenza activity increases in the United States, clinicians are urged to consult CDC guidance on the use of influenza antiviral agents and rapid influenza diagnostic tests this season. Updated recommendations on the use of antiviral medications will be published in an upcoming Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), but an interim version of the recommendations is currently available on CDC’s website at http://www.cdc.gov/flu/professionals/antivirals/index.htm. The updated guidance for health care professionals on the use of rapid influenza diagnostic tests is available at http://www.cdc.gov/flu/professionals/diagnosis/clinician_guidance_ridt.htm. For the most recent summary of influenza activity in the United States, consult the CDC influenza surveillance report FluView at http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/fluactivitysurv.htm.
Recommendations
Antiviral Agents Guidance:
The recommendations on the use of influenza antiviral agents contain information on treatment and chemoprophylaxis of influenza virus infection, and also provide a summary of the effectiveness and safety of antiviral medications. Highlights include recommendations for the following:
1) early empiric antiviral treatment of suspected or confirmed influenza among people with severe, complicated, or progressive illness or those hospitalized for influenza;
2) early empiric antiviral treatment of suspected or confirmed influenza among people at higher risk for influenza complications;
3) use of either oseltamivir or zanamivir for influenza A and B treatment or chemoprophylaxis, and recommendations not to use rimantadine or amantadine as influenza antiviral medications due to high levels of resistance to these medications among circulating influenza A viruses;
4) use of antiviral medications among children younger than 1 year of age;
5) use of local data on influenza virus circulation and influenza testing of respiratory specimens from patients with suspected influenza, when available, to help inform clinicians about influenza circulation; and
6) consideration of antiviral treatment for any previously healthy, non high-risk symptomatic outpatient with confirmed or suspected influenza, based upon clinical judgment, if treatment can be initiated within 48 hours of illness onset.
For Information on Use of Influenza Antiviral Agents During the 2010-2011 Influenza Season go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/professionals/antivirals/index.htm
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