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Washoe District Health Officer Kevin Dick asked for the resignation of the district's chief epidemiologist on Friday...Dr. Randall Todd has been the director of epidemiology for the Washoe County Health District for 14 years. Before that he was Nevada's State Epidemiologist for 12 years...Todd confirmed that Dick asked him to leave his position..."It was requested," Todd said. "What I'm going to do is I'm going to retire. I've got quite a few years in. Twenty-six to be precise."...Todd said Dick did not give him a reason for requesting his resignation. Todd acknowledged that he's been in conflict with Dick "off and on over the years," but wasn't specific about the source of the conflict...READ MORE

Within the last month or so, more Las Vegas Valley medical offices have started offering telemedicine appointments in response to the COVID-19 outbreak — part of a nationwide trend that has seen an explosion in use of the technology. A big selling point is that many patients are uneasy about going to a doctor’s office because of the risk of getting infected or infecting others…Some doctors and telemedicine experts say the COVID-19 outbreak is spurring more acceptance of telemedicine — a change that could have a long-lasting impact on the nation’s health care system… Telemedicine took off in Nevada after Gov. Steve Sisolak’s stay-at-home order and social distancing guidelines, cardiologist Dr. Jeffrey Levisman said. “It’s an attempt to continue to provide medical care, especially for patients who are sick and elderly who are at a higher risk of getting the virus and (experiencing) a bad outcome.”…READ MORE

Though the Nevada State Public Health Laboratory has enough resources to continue testing at current levels, its capacity remains well below the level needed to conduct widespread disease surveillance to keep the spread of the novel coronavirus under control as governments begin easing restrictions on citizens, lab director Dr. Mark Pandori said...the lab is planning to bring additional equipment online in mid-May that could allow the lab to quadruple its current ability to test...“If we were to quadruple our throughput here at this lab and several other labs then we would be approaching a moment when we could start to screen well beyond just contacts of known cases and symptomatic people,” Pandori said...READ MORE

Nevada’s request for a major disaster declaration, opening up additional paths for federal assistance under the national emergency proclamation, has been approved, Gov. Steve Sisolak announced Saturday afternoon...The declaration, which was requested by the state on Tuesday, will allow federal dollars to flow to Nevada to support Carson City and local governments’ ongoing responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Federal funding is expected to be made available to governmental agencies and certain private nonprofit organizations for emergency protective measures...READ MORE

State investigators must inspect hospitals before resolving workplace safety complaints during the coronavirus pandemic, Nevada’s largest health care union formally demanded Friday...In a two-page letter sent to the state’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Nevada chapter of Service Employees International Union outlined hazards it alleges are still ongoing at a swath of large hospitals across the state...Among the union’s allegations:

— Front-line health care workers are being forced to reuse protective equipment meant for a single use. Additionally, some hospital staff were not being provided proper safety equipment.

— Hospital workers who are at risk for coronavirus complications, or have at-risk family members, are being required to treat and work near coronavirus patients.

— Hospital workers are being exposed to patients with coronavirus symptoms but are never informed if the patients tested positive for the virus. Those same workers were later diagnosed with the disease themselves...READ MORE

University Medical Center…began prescribing hydroxychloroquine to high-risk emergency room patients who test positive for COVID-19 but do not require immediate hospitalization…In doing so, UMC became the first Las Vegas-area hospital to dispense it on an outpatient basis, taking a cutting-edge position nationally in the use of the controversial experimental drug… Dr. Thomas Zyniewicz, an emergency medicine physician at UMC, said the drug, which is frequently used to treat malaria and autoimmune diseases, has shown promising results in thwarting the progression of COVID-19… Dr. Thomas Zyniewicz, an emergency medicine physician at UMC, said the drug, which is frequently used to treat malaria and autoimmune diseases, has shown promising results in thwarting the progression of COVID-19…READ MORE

Hospitals in Nevada are still not near their maximum capacity as the number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus grow, though Southern Nevada hospitals appear to be experiencing the most strain so far, according to a Nevada Hospital Association report shared with government officials...The data...shows that Southern Nevada hospitals have a higher percentage of occupied beds, occupied ICU beds and ventilators in use than their counterparts in northern and rural Nevada. In Southern Nevada, 65 percent of hospital beds are occupied, 79 percent of ICU beds are occupied and 56 percent of ventilators are in use, compared to 57 percent occupied beds, 43 percent occupied ICU beds and 30 percent of ventilators in use in Washoe County...READ MORE

The Board Welcomes New Members
-Helen Park
-Richard Tomasso
-Krystal Freitas
-Rolf Zakariassen

Transferring a Prescription
-NAC 639.713 Transfer of information between pharmacies: Conditions; Prohibitions
-NAC 639.714: Transfer of information between pharmacies: Procedure for oral transfers.
-NAC 639.7145: Transfer of information between pharmacies: Requirements for transfer by facsimile machine.

President Trump Signs Legislation Extending Schedule I Status for Fentanyl Analogues

Drug Overdose Deaths Related to Prescription Opioids Declined by 13% in 2018

Drug-Resistant Infections Are Increasing

NASEM Report Recommends Framework for Opioid Prescribing Guidelines for Acute Pain

New Research Shows Pharmacists Positively Impact Hospital Care Transitions

Institutional living facilities that serve seniors and others at higher risk of the most serious infections, as well as prisons, where it is difficult to adhere to social distancing guidelines, have been hard hit by the easily spread virus...HHS analysts, compliance officers and epidemiologists are attempting to use the data “to identify, control and contain the spread of COVID-19 among our most vulnerable residents living within skilled nursing and assisted living facilities,” according to a news release from the state’s COVID-19 response team...According to initial data state investigators are compiling, poor hand hygiene has emerged as the No. 1 factor in the spread of COVID-19 in skilled-nursing homes and similar communal care facilities in Nevada...READ MORE

Nevada’s northern and southern labs are out of coronavirus testing swabs, but officials expect to get more kits this week, including rapid-result test kits, Gov. Steve Sisolak said Monday...At a coronavirus briefing, Sisolak said the state has received 4,000 test swabs from the federal government and 3,000 reagent liquid kits that are used to test the samples...Sisolak said that while federal officials provided test components, “we did not get complete kits.”...State health workers continue to struggle to find enough kits to fill growing patient demands, and some clinics have shut down temporarily in Las Vegas as they wait for new supplies...READ MORE