Webinar: "COVID-19 and the Liver – Antibody Testing and Treatment Recommendations"

On April 30, AASLD hosted a webinar dedicated to ongoing discoveries and discussions about COVID-19 and how it impacts the care of liver patients. It also:

• Described updates to the COVID-19 pandemic's effect on the liver and its impact on hepatology and liver transplant providers.
• Helped attendees to understand and review management strategies in patients with COVID-19 and chronic liver disease.
• Provided information regarding diagnostic antibody tests for SARS-CoV2 exposure and review data on the possibility of subsequent immune protection from COVID-19.

NEW! Watch the pre-recorded webinar.

NEW! Download the slide presentation.

Webinar: "COVID-19 and the Liver – Case Studies and Updates"

On April 16, AASLD hosted a webinar that highlighted information from the April 16 update to the "Clinical Insights for Hepatology and Liver Transplant Providers During the COVID-19 Pandemic" paper. It also:

• Provide short synopses on several research articles.
• Present a few cases submitted in advance by attendees. The experts discuss the next best steps to be taken in that patient’s care.

Watch the pre-recorded webinar.

Download the slide presentation.

Webinar: "COVID-19 and the Liver – Case Studies and Updates"

On April 7, AASLD hosted a webinar that highlighted information from the April 7 update to the "Clinical Insights for Hepatology and Liver Transplant Providers During the COVID-19 Pandemic" paper. It also:

• Provided short synopses on several research articles
• Laid out a detailed case of a liver patient diagnosed with COVID-19 and steps taken in that patient’s care

Watch the pre-recorded webinar.

Download the slide presentation.

Webinar: "COVID-19 and the Liver"

On March 26, AASLD hosted a webinar that highlighted information from AASLD’s March 23rd "Clinical Insights for Hepatology and Liver Transplant Providers During the COVID-19 Pandemic" paper.

Watch the pre-recorded webinar.

Download the slide presentation.

Take Action to Protect Our Community during the Pandemic

The 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) has put not only GI professionals but also the entire medical community at risk.

In a joint letter to Congress, AASLD, American College of Gastroenterology (ACG), American Gastroenterological Association (AGA), and American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) call on policymakers to protect you, your colleagues and patients from COVID-19 by:

• Increasing funding for and access to personal protective equipment (PPE)
• Easing prior authorization and Medicare reporting requirements
• Providing financial safeguards for health care professionals and practices.

Join us and make your voice heard: Use our online advocacy tool to send an email to your legislators about how COVID-19 is impacting you and what needs to be done to protect you, your colleagues and your patients during this urgent time.

AASLD joins 160 Organizations in Support of Long-Term Funding for America's Public Health Infrastructure

Read the joint societies' letter to Congress.

AASLD and the rest of the Coalition for Health Funding write to Congress regarding Funding for CDC, NIH, HRSA, NASEM, USAID and Others

Read the joint societies' letter to Congress.

AASLD advocates to CDC to ensure that patients with liver-related illness are included among vulnerable populations in need of testing services

Read AASLD's letter to the CDC.

COVID-19 Checklists and Tools to Accelerate Relief for State Medicaid & CHIP Programs

• 1115 Waiver Opportunity and Application Checklist
• 1135 Waiver Checklist
• 1915(c) Appendix K Template
• Medicaid Disaster State Plan Amendment Template

On Monday, March 30, 2020, CMS released an interim final rule and blanket waivers to provide additional flexibilities to providers during the COVID-19 emergency. AASLD’s Government Relations Consultant CRD Associates prepared this summary.

CMS released additional waivers on April 9. All of the waivers can be found online.

Joint GI Society Message: CMS encouraged to pay for telehealth services at level with in-person visits

Read the joint GI societies' statement.

Joint GI Society Message: COVID-19 Telehealth Information for Gastroenterologists and Gastroenterology Care Providers

Read the joint GI societies' statement.

• COVID-19: Novel Coronavirus Outbreak [Wiley]
• Novel Coronavirus Information Center [Elsevier]
• COVID-19 Resources & Tools (Coronavirus Resources) [Wolters Kluwer]
• Gu J, Han B, Wang J. COVID-19: Gastrointestinal manifestations and potential fecal-oral transmission. Gastroenterology. 2020 Mar 3. pii: S0016-5085(20)30281-X. [Epub ahead of print]
• Xiao F, Tang M, et al. Evidence for gastrointestinal infection of SARS-CoV-Gastroenterology. 2020 Mar 3. pii: S0016-5085(20)30282-1. [Epub ahead of print] 
• Huang C, Wang Y, Li X, Ren L, Hao J, Hu Y, et al. Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China. Lancet 2020; 395: 497-506 
• WEO ALERT: Wuhan proposal for Safety in Digestive Endoscopy
• Surgeon General advises hospitals to cancel elective surgeries
• Repici A, Maselli R Matteo, R, et al. Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak: what the department of endoscopy should know. Gastrointest Endosc, March 2020 [Epub ahead of print

• What to Know About Liver Disease and COVID-19
• This index provides links to most of the pertinent details regarding COVID-19, including steps health care facilities can take to prepare for COVID-19 in the community and interim guidance for health care facilities
• This link outlines the basic "Steps to prepare" for COVID-19 arrival in your community
• This link provides further specific "interim guidance" for health care facilities, including plans for preparation and activation in the even to community spread in your region, for both inpatient, outpatient, and long-term care facilities
• This link provides further connections to interim guidance for professionals
• Potential staff exposure
• CDC Community Mitigation Strategies

• Summary of April 30 Interim Final Rule with Comment Period in Response to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency
• CMS released guidelines for some health care facilities to resume elective procedures in areas where there is a low incidence of COVID-19.
• CMS has updated their FAQ on Medicare Fee-for-Service (FFS) billing.

• Coronavirus Treatment Acceleration Program

• HHS has opened the CARES Provider Relief Portal. Providers who have received a payment from the initial $30 billion general distribution must log in to the portal to sign an attestation confirming receipt of the funds and agreeing to the terms and conditions within 30 days of receiving the funds.

• The Health Care Resiliency Taskforce, led by FEMA and ASPR, continues to release guidance for health care providers responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Taskforce released an alternate care site toolkit to address potential shortages in medical facilities during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. A similar toolkit for telehealth will be released in the near future.

• NIH has updated its COVID-19 related resources for grant applicants and recipients.

SECURE-Cirrhosis is a secure, online, de-identified registry of patients with cirrhosis or post-liver transplant who have developed COVID-19.

Visit the SECURE-Cirrhosis website.

If you have recovered from COVID-19, you may be able to help patients currently fighting the infection by donating your plasma. As a result of your infection, your plasma now contains COVID-19 antibodies, which is one way your immune system fought the virus when you were sick. To learn if you might be a donor, visit COVIDplasma.org.

AASLD President Dr. Jorge A. Bezerra's Monthly Column

April 23, 2020
"Responding to the COVID-19 Crisis with Resilience, Adaptability, and Creativity."

March 24, 2020
"We are Stronger than COVID-19."