COVID-19 Information for Healthcare Providers
Kentucky COVID19 physician only hotline: 1-888-404-1539
Kentucky COVID-19 website
Louisville's COVID-19 Resource Center and Data Dashboard
LOU HEALTH COVID-19 Helpline: 502-912-8598
Please first check the Kentucky COVID-19 website section for healthcare providers. Information is updated frequently.
New! COVID-19 Reporting Results, Case Classification, and Release from Isolation/Return to Work
September 1, 2020 - This update provided by Dr. SaraBeth Hartlage, Interim Medical Director, is based on changes in State and National recommendations.
Guidance on Reporting Results
Health Care Providers
All positive laboratory results for COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) are required to be reported to the Kentucky Department for Public Health (KDPH) within 24 hours. This includes every patient with positive PCR, NAA, antigen and antibody results. Reporting of rapid and point-of-care testing are also required. Clinician/facility reporting is required in addition to laboratory reporting to fulfill Kentucky’s reporting requirements. The full reporting guidance issued by KDPH can be found here.
For any lab-positive results of COVID-19 testing, providers/clinicians/facilities must submit a CDC Person Under Investigation (PUI) Form (also called a, “COVID-19 Case Report Form”) and Kentucky’s Reportable Disease Form, an EPID 200. For Jefferson County residents, PUI forms can be faxed to (502) 574-5865. For non-Jefferson County residents, fax PUI forms to the KDPH secure fax at (502) 696-3803. An updated version of the PUI form can be found on CDC’s website and an updated version of the EPID 200 can be found on the Commonwealth’s website.
For any inquires or questions, please contact DPH.COVID19Providers@KY.gov.
Laboratory Operators
All laboratories and facilities offering COVID-19 testing, including rapid testing, must report all test results (positive and non-positive) electronically through the Kentucky Health Information Exchange (KHIE). The updated guidance also includes new data element requirements as part of all COVID-19 lab test report submissions. The full reporting guidance issued by KDPH, including KHIE instructions and updated data element requirements can be found here.
For any inquires or questions, please contact covidKYlab@KY.gov.
Case Classification
The Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) Executive Board approved position statement Interim-20-ID-02 for COVID-19 on August 5, 2020 (superseding Interim-20-ID-01). Key updates to the standardized case definition for COVID-19, include:
- Clarifications to clinical, laboratory, epidemiologic linkage, and vital records criteria for case identification and classification,
- Updated probable case classifications to classify the detection of SARS-CoV-2 antigen as a probable case, and
- New suspect case classifications that are intended solely for internal health department surveillance tracking purposes and not for official case counts at the state, local, or national level.
- Surveillance case definitions enable public health officials to classify and count cases consistently across reporting jurisdictions. Surveillance case definitions are not intended to be used by healthcare providers for making a clinical diagnosis or determining how to meet an individual patient’s health needs.Individuals who meet these case definitions should be reported to the local or state health department.
Release from Isolation/Return to Work
KDPH and CDC guidance recommends a symptom-based strategy to determine release from isolation and when individuals can return to work.
- For most persons with COVID-19 illness, isolation and precautions can generally be discontinued 10 days after symptom onset and resolution of fever for at least 24 hours, without the use of fever-reducing medications, and with improvement of other symptoms. The time period used depends on the severity of illness and if the individual is severely immunocompromised.
- There is still insufficient evidence to support retesting individuals before returning to congregate settings. A time-based strategy (at least 14 days) is recommended for releasing individuals from transmission-based precautions in congregate settings, as there is still insufficient evidence to support repeat testing.
- Retesting is also not recommended for individuals previously diagnosed with COVID-19 who remain asymptomatic after recovery. Data shows that a person who has had and recovered from COVID-19 may have low levels of virus in their bodies for up to 3 months after diagnosis, so if the individual is retested within 3 months of initial infection, they may continue to have a positive test result, even though they are not spreading COVID-19.
- Studies have not found evidence that clinically recovered persons with persistence of viral RNA have transmitted SARS-CoV-2 to others. These findings strengthen the justification for relying on a symptom based, rather than test-based strategy for ending isolation of these patients, so that persons who are by current evidence no longer infectious are not kept unnecessarily isolated and excluded from work or other responsibilities.
- This update incorporates recent evidence to inform the duration of isolation and precautions recommended to prevent transmission of COVID-19 to others, while limiting unnecessary prolonged isolation and unnecessary use of laboratory testing resources. The full release from isolation/return to work guidance from KDPH can be found here.
Additional Links and Resources
- American Medical Association: COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions
- CDC Information for Healthcare Professionals
- CDC Information and Guidance for Laboratories
- CDC – Infection Prevention and Control Recommendations in Healthcare Settings
- Strategies for Optimizing PPE Supply
- CDC – COVID-19 Vaccine FAQs for Healthcare Professionals
- Kentucky Guidance for Healthcare Providers and Laboratories
- KY COVID-19 Physician Only Hotline: 1-888-404-1539
- Telehealth Assistance and Guidance
- COVID Guidance: Screening for Suicide Risk during Telehealth Visits
- Kentucky Drive-thru Testing
- Louisville COVID-19 Unified Command Prioritization for Distribution of PPE
- Louisville PPE Request Form for Healthcare Providers
- Louisville testing sites
- University of Louisville N95 Decontamination Program for Healthcare, First Responder, Community Organizations
- Norton Community Support for Post-Acute Facilities Hotline 877-HELPC19 (1-877-435-7219)
- Louisville Metro Public Health & Wellness Office of Communicable Diseases
- Phone: 502-574-6677
- Fax: 502.574.5865
For Patients/Individuals
Materials to print and share (including translations)
CDC Printable Educational Materials
Social and Financial Resources for Individuals
Treating Suicidal Patients during COVID-19 -- Video Training Series
The Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) is excited to announce the release of Treating Suicidal Patients during COVID-19, a video series with expert advice on treating patients at risk of suicide during the COVID-19 pandemic. The series includes three brief videos on initiating and maintaining remote contact with clients, assessing suicide risk, and developing a safety plan remotely.
