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treatment
Long-Term Care Facilities Eligible for Department of Health Therapeutics Network for COVID
Message from the Department of Health (PA DOH):
With the recent rise in COVID-19 case counts across the Commonwealth and the country, the Pennsylvania Department of Health (PA DOH) wants long-term care facilities (LTCFs) to be aware of the multiple ways to access lifesaving COVID-19 treatment and preventive products.
We distribute the following outpatient therapeutics directly to LTCFs that enroll in the PA DOH network:
- Treatment: Oral antivirals (Paxlovid & Lagevrio);
- Treatment: Monoclonal antibodies (Bebtelovimab); and
- Preventive: Monoclonal antibodies for pre-exposure prophylaxis (Evusheld).
Stocking therapeutics on-site can help eligible patients access preventive protection and receive timely treatment, which must be initiated within a matter of days from symptom onset. Most patients who test positive for COVID-19 are eligible for treatment.
The one-page guide for LTCFs covers how to enroll in the PA DOH therapeutics network. The first step is to complete our therapeutics enrollment form. You will receive additional instructions after form submission. To enroll, your facility will need a pharmacy license and/or a licensed medical director to take responsibility. If you do not have either of these, please reference the guide for alternative options to access COVID-19 therapeutics.
In addition to reviewing the guide, we appreciate you sharing it with other relevant LTCF stakeholders.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out via email. Thank you for all that you do to protect vulnerable residents across the Commonwealth. We appreciate your partnership in the fight against COVID-19.
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DDAP Selects New Team to Review Deaths Related to Medications Treating OUD
Act 126 of 2020 amended the original 2012 Methadone Death and Incident Review (MDAIR) Act, which established the creation of a team to review methadone-related deaths or incidents, to go beyond methadone and include a review of death and incidents related to any Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved medication to treat opioid use disorder as a primary, secondary, or contributing factor to a death or incident.
As a result of the new law, the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs selected a new MDAIR team to review medication-related deaths, communicate concerns, and develop best practices to prevent future medication-related deaths and incidents.
A list of the new team members can be found here.
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Registration Opens for 2021 Virtual PA Psychostimulant Symposium
With the increase in stimulant and polysubstance use in the commonwealth, the symposium, being held December 1–2, will serve as a platform to learn about the dangers associated with the misuse of psychostimulants while discovering tactics for preventing widespread psychostimulant use disorder, protecting individuals and communities, and teaching effective treatment. Attendance is free, but pre-registration is required.
More information is available here.
Questions about the symposium should be emailed here.