COVID-19: Information for Providers

Editor's Note: This page is continuing to be updated during the pandemic by APTA Home Health's Practice Committee. Click here to email your suggestions.

Across the world, health care providers have taken varying precautionary measures to flatten the curve. In general, when there is an opportunity to practice social distancing, we encourage HCPs to do so. Also, "first do no harm" suggests HCPs should weigh the risks of providing care versus not. As always, patient care is an individualized case-by-case determination for PTs, who are relied on for clinical judgment. Continue to follow available CDC guidance, and remember that the risks of being too cautious may be less than the risks of not being cautious enough.

COVID-19 Resources for the Physical Therapy Profession

Telehealth Resources:

• Added 12/16/20: Telehealth Modalities PTs and PTAs Can Use During the Public Health Emergency and Beyond
• Added 5/28/20: CMS Updates its Coronavirus Waiver FAQs to Discuss Telehealth Coverage
• Added 4/8/20: HHS President's Letter to CMS Regarding Interim Emergency Bill on Telehealth
• Added 4/8/20: APA Telehealth Guidelines for COVID-19
• Added 3/26/20: COVID-19 Medicare Telehealth Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
• Added 3/16/20: Telehealth in Physical Therapy in LIght of COVID-19
• Added 3/19/20: APTA Telehealth Resources

Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) Resources:

• CDC Information and Resources
• Added 2/3/21: Elastomeric Respirators: Strategies During Conventional and Surge Demand Situations
• Added 4/27/20: CDC Has Expanded the Official List of COVID-19 Symptoms
• Added 4/9/20: Interim Guidance for Implementing Safety Practices for Critical Infrastructure Workers Who May Have Had Exposure to a Person with Suspected or Confirmed COVID-19
• Added 4/1/20: ICD-10-CM Official Coding and Reporting Guidelines for COVID-19
• CDC on Mass Gatherings or Large Community Events
• Strategies for Optimizing the Supply of Facemasks

Webinar Recordings:

• 5/28/20 Recording: Envisioning a New Normal for Physical Therapy: How Interoperability Can Protect and Grow Referrals, Enable Virtual Health, and Improve Care Coordination 
• 5/23/20 Recording: COVID-19 Expert Panel: You've Got Clinical Questions, Let's See if We Have Answers 
• 5/16/20 Recording: COVID-19: "ICU to Home Transitions"
• 5/9/20 Recording: "Overview of Prone Positioning - Why it Works and Lessons Learned"
• 4/30/20 Recording: "At Home with the Home Health Section" COVID-19 Town Hall Webinar
• Q&As/Comments from live Town Hall Webinar (.pdf)
• 4/25/20 Recording: Physical Therapy Considerations of Neurologic Presentations in COVID-19
• 4/18/20 Recording: Physical Therapy Considerations of COVID-19 in the Post-Acute Setting
• 4/4/20 Recording: COVID-19: Minimizing the Impact of Social Distancing for the Older Adult
• 3/31/20 Recording: Webinar Recording Available: COVID-19 - Clinical Best Practices in Physical Therapy Management 
• 3/28/20 Recording : COVID-19: Clinical Best Practices in Physical Therapy Management

Find everything you need - the recording link, the presentation slides, resources, and the speaker info - in the document links above. Download to save and share! 

 COVID-19 Related Studies:

• Added 2/3/21: Respiratory and Psychophysical Sequelae Among Patients With COVID-19 Four Months After Hospital Discharge
• Added 12/3/2020: Medicare and Home Health: Taking Stock in the COVID-19 Era
• Added 5/14/20: NPIAP White Paper: Skin Manifestations with COVID-19: The Purple Skin and Toes that you are seeing may not be Deep Tissue Pressure Injury. 

ACOEM Resources:

The American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine has shared recordings of their free COVID-19 webinars. The information provided in these videos is not designed to replace local institutional policies. The viewer should keep in mind that the information and recommendations are based on initial webinar date and to consider any additional updated and most current recommendations for making clinical decisions. 

• April 3, 2020: COVID-19 Protecting Health Care Workers: Reuse and Decontamination of N95 Respirators
• April 1, 2020: COVID-19: Protecting Health Care Workers - Epidemiology, Virology and Occupational Health Practice
• March 23, 2020: Occupational Health Measures in the Preparedness and Response to COVID-19 at the Workplace

Other Resources:

• Added 2/10/21: Clinical Spectrum of SARS-CoV-2 Infection
• Added 2/3/21: BCAT COVID-19 Survey - Assessing the Psychological Burden Associated with COVID-19
• Added 1/25/21: Impact of COVID-19 on the Physical Therapy Profession
• Added 1/21/21: APTA COVID-19 Core Outcome Measures
• Added 12/16/20: Get Familiar With the HHS Provider Relief Fund FAQ Page
• Added 5/22/20: WHO/PAHO Resource: "Rehab Considerations During the COVID-19 Outbreak"
• Added 4/24/20: Health Affairs Blog: In The Time Of COVID-19, We Should Move High-Intensity Postacute Care Home
• Added 4/9/20: COVID-19 & Adult CPR
• Added 4/1/20: FSBPT: Possible Roles for PTs and PTAs during the COVID-19 Pandemic
• Added 3/19/20: AHCA/NCAL Advisory on The Role of Physical and Occupational Therapy and Speech-Language Pathology Personnel in LTC Facilities During the COVID-19 Pandemic
• Added 3/19/20: AHCA/NCAL Coronavirus Resource Page 
• OSHA Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19
• OSHA COVID-19 Resources
• The Joint Commission Information and Resources

Other APTA Sections COVID-19 Resource Pages:

• APTA NATIONAL 
• Acute Care 
• Cardiovascular and Pulmonary
• Education
• Geriatrics
• Health Policy and Administration
• Neurology
• Orthopaedics
• Pediatrics
• Pelvic Health
• Private Practice
• Sports