20-154 Novel Coronavirus Resources and Clinical Guidance

Date: 02/07/20

This information applies to Physicians, Participating Physician Groups (PPGs), Hospitals, and Ancillary providers.

This information applies to Medi-Cal in Fresno, Kings and Madera counties.

Includes guidelines for testing and reporting

Health Net* and CalViva Health encourage providers to be aware of guidelines for testing, reporting and treating cases of 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). Providers should monitor resources described below as more information becomes available.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations for providers

• Limited information is available to characterize the spectrum of clinical illness associated with 2019-nCoV. No vaccine or specific treatment for 2019-nCoV infection is available; care is supportive.
• The CDC clinical criteria for a 2019-nCoV patient under investigation (PUI) have been developed based on what is known about MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV and are subject to change as additional information becomes available.
• Health care providers should obtain a detailed travel history for patients being evaluated with fever and acute respiratory illness.
• Health care providers should immediately notify both infection control personnel at their health care facility and their local or state health department in the event of a PUI for 2019-nCoV.
• Additional guidance for collection, handling and testing of clinical specimens is available at www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/.

The above bullet points were adapted from emergency.cdc.gov/han/han00426.asp.

Clinical criteria for evaluating a PUI

Patients should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Interim CDC guidance can be found at cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/clinical-criteria.html.

Note, per the CDC guidance, fever may not be present in some patients, such as those who are very young, elderly, immunosuppressed, or taking certain fever-lowering medications.

More resources

CDC coronavirus main website:

• www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

CA DPH coronavirus webpage for providers:

• www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/Immunization/nCOV2019.aspx

Additional information

Providers are encouraged to access the provider portal online at provider.healthnet.com for real-time information, including eligibility verification, claims status, prior authorization status, plan summaries, and more.

If you have questions regarding the information contained in this update, contact CalViva Health at 1-888-893-1569.