Anesthesia Coding Alert

Hint: The list might be longer than you expect.

As COVID-19 vaccination becomes more widespread, it’s important to be aware of who in your office should be getting the vaccine (which is different from the issue of deciding whether to require vaccination as discussed on page 3). Keep this guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in mind as you talk with your practice’s anesthesia providers and staff.

Look to Expansive Definition

The CDC includes a rather expansive definition of healthcare personnel (HCP), as far as COVID-19 is concerned. Though vaccination distribution rules are largely determined by each individual state, the CDC has marked the following roles as HCP and instructs that they should be pursuing complete vaccination:

• Emergency medical service personnel
• Nurses and nursing assistants
• Physicians
• Technicians
• Therapists
• Dentists
• Dental hygienists and assistants
• Phlebotomists
• Pharmacists
• Students and trainees
• Contractual staff
• Dietary and food services staff
• Environmental services staff
• Administrative staff

Make Every Team Member a Priority

The CDC explicitly reminds providers that these recommendations pertain to both paid and unpaid HCP, so don’t forget any interns or other team members who aren’t full-time employees.

As of publication, nearly 400,000 HCP had contracted SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and more than 1,300 have died.

Although there are possible risks associated with vaccination, the benefits vastly outweigh the risks, experts including the CDC say. Besides protecting HCP on an individual basis, vaccination helps preserve the capacity of the nation’s healthcare systems, as well as minimizing the risk that HCP will accidentally infect patients.

Make sure you’re advocating for all of your team members to be vaccinated, providing transparent answers about the small risks associated with vaccination, and trying to eliminate misinformation about vaccination safety or efficacy.

Check out these COVID-19 vaccination toolkits if you need more information: www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/toolkits.html.