THSteps Medical and Dental Checkups during COVID-19

Attention: Primary Care Providers Effective Date: October 22, 2020 The content in this message expired on October 23, 2020, as announced by the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC). TCHP COVID-19 Utilization Management Procedure and TCHP provider alerts can be found here: http://www.thecheckup.org/provider-alerts/Providers should monitor the Texas Children’s Health Plan (TCHP) Provider Portal regularly for alerts and updates associated to the COVID-19 event. TCHP reserves the right to update and/or change this information without prior notice due to the evolving nature of the COVID-19 event.Call to action: TCHP aligns with the guidance from Health and Human Services Commissions’ (HHSC) regarding THSteps medical and dental checkups. To limit exposure to COVID-19 and allow providers to focus on acute care, HHSC encourages medical and dental providers to make decisions on adjusting clinical operations based on professional medical judgement and/or guidance from professional medical and dental authorities. Consideration for the exposure risk of COVID- 19 at the local and community level should be a decision factor. How this impacts providers: Operational changes a provider may want to consider in their daily office operations may include the following:

Postponing certain checkups
Limiting checkups to certain times of day
Dedicating specific exam rooms for sick and well visits
Prioritizing visits for younger patients, especially those due for routine vaccines

Department of Family and Protective Services exam information: Providers are encouraged to continue providing in-person medical exams for children entering the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) conservatorship (3-day exam). This is an opportunity to have a child new to DFPS conservatorship seen by a health care provider. These medical visits are very important for the new caregiver to have information about the child’s health. Next steps for providers: Providers should adhere to the guidance from HHSC and adjust their practice operations accordingly in order to reduce COVID-19 exposure to patients and their staff. Resources:American Academy of Pediatrics American Dental AssociationIf you have any questions, please email Provider Network Management at: providerrelations@texaschildrens.org.For access to all provider alerts,log into: www.thecheckup.org or www.texaschildrenshealthplan.org/for-providers.