Healthcare Providers

Click here for a searchable list of RIDOH COVID-19 publications for healthcare providers.

Pre-Exposure Prevention of COVID-19

Monoclonal Antibodies (MABS)

MABS for pre-exposure prevention are available for adult and pediatric outpatients who are age 12 or older, have a moderate to severe compromised immune system, and have not tested positive or have not recently been exposed to someone with COVID-19.

Treatment Option:

Tixagevimab and cilgavimab (EVUSHELD) – (age 12 and older) EUA | EUA Provider Fact Sheet | EUA Patient Fact Sheet

To refer a patient for pre-exposure prevention, contact the infusion and oncology centers in the following participating hospitals:

Kent Hospital
The Miriam Hospital
Rhode Island Hospital
Roger Williams Medical Center
Women and Infants Hospital

MABS Resources

NEW COVID-19 Therapeutics Locator

Treatments for After Exposure to COVID-19

Treatments for after exposure to COVID-19 are available for adult outpatients who test positive for COVID-19. There are two options currently authorized for treatment exposure for COVID-19: Monoclonal Antibodies (MABS) and oral antivirals.

For details on medical conditions and other factors associated with increased risk for progression to severe COVID-19, including race and ethnicity, review the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s People with Certain Medical Conditions website.

Monoclonal Antibodies (MABS)

MABS treatment are available for adult outpatients who test positive for COVID-19, started having mild to moderate symptoms in the last 10 days, and are at high risk for progressing to severe disease and/or hospitalization.

Treatment Options:

Sotrovimab EUA | EUA Provider Fact Sheet | EUA Patient Fact Sheet

How to Acquire Treatment for Patients

Encourage patients to get tested as soon as they have COVID-19 symptoms so eligible patients can start treatment as early as possible to maximize treatment effectiveness. Healthcare providers can refer eligible patients directly to participating infusion centers or services.

Refer eligible patients to the these MABS infusion centers or services.

Infusion centers and services are using similar referral criteria and treatment processes. Review interim guidelines released by the COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines Panel on Patient Prioritization for Outpatient Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Therapies on December 23, 2021.

Discuss treatment options with patients and give them the Early Use Authorization (EUA) patient fact sheet.

In-home treatment is available to patients through Alert Ambulance. Email the completed referral form by secure email to [email protected] or fax it to 401-384-7350.

Patients without a regular healthcare provider can visit health.ri.gov/find/urgentcare or schedule treatment directly with Atmed Urgent Care at atmedurgentcare.net. Patients who don't have or have lost their health insurance can learn about urgent care and health centers and accessing healthcare and support services.

MABS Resources

Oral Antiviral

Oral Antiviral treatment is available for adult and pediatric outpatients who test positive for COVID-19, started having mild to moderate symptoms in the last five days, and are at high risk for progressing to severe disease and/or hospitalization.

Treatment Options:

Molnupiravir – (age 18 and older) EUA | EUA Provider Fact Sheet | EUA Patient Fact Sheet
Nirmatrelvir, nsp5 and ritanovir (PAXLOVID) – (age 12 and older) EUA | EUA Provider Fact Sheet | EUA Patient Fact Sheet

How to Acquire Treatment for Patients

Oral antivirals are available by prescription only. The oral antiviral should be prescribed as soon as possible after a COVID-19 diagnosis and within five days of symptom onset.

The oral antivirals will be available in certain pharmacies across the state. Visit the COVID-19 Therapeutics locator to review current availability before submitting a script to a participating pharmacy in Rhode Island.

Encourage patients to get tested as soon as they have COVID-19 symptoms so eligible patients can start oral antiviral treatment as early as possible to maximize treatment effectiveness.

Oral Antiviral Resources:

COVID-19 Treatment Resources

NEW COVID-19 Therapeutics Locator
ASPR, Side-by-Side Overview of Outpatient Therapies Authorized for Treatment of Mild-Moderate COVID-19
CDC, Interim Clinical Guidance for Management of Patients with Confirmed Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)
IDSA, Infectious Diseases Society of America Guidelines on the Treatment and Management of Patients with COVID-19
NIH, COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines
Dr. Mitchell Levy, Brown University, Inpatient Treatment of COVID-19: An Update

Patient Vaccination

Learn about and enroll to be a COVID-19 vaccine provider.
For answers to frequently asked questions about COVID-19 vaccination, please see COVID-19 Vaccine FAQs

Healthcare Provider Vaccination

The Rhode Island Department of Health requires that all employees, interns, and volunteers in RIDOH-licensed healthcare facilities and all RIDOH-licensed healthcare providers must receive their final dose of COVID-19 vaccine by October 1, 2021, effective August 18.

Ordering Tests

The Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) recommends COVID-19 testing for vaccinated and unvaccinated people who:

have symptoms of COVID-19
may have been exposed to someone with COVID-19
have recently traveled out of state

People who are not yet fully vaccinated should get tested weekly.

Test Ordering Options

Primary care providers and respiratory clinics performing in-office specimen collection and sending tests to a lab for processing should order tests according to the office’s or lab’s protocol.

Outpatient healthcare providers can order COVID-19 tests for patients of all ages in the following ways:

Use the online ordering system at schedulecovidtest.ri.gov to order a test for a patient who has symptoms or may have been exposed to someone with COVID-19. The ordering clinician may choose from a list of State-run testing sites located throughout Rhode Island.
- Please note: If you’re still ordering COVID-19 tests through the physician portal, RIDOH encourages you to explore other testing options for your patients like the ones listed below.

Direct patients to local pharmacies in your community. You can find a pharmacy that offers COVID-19 testing near you by going to covid.ri.gov/testing and clicking on the map.
- Free COVID-19 testing for Rhode Islanders ages three and older is available at Walgreens Pharmacies across the State.

Refer patients to a local respiratory clinic for COVID-19 testing.

COVID-19 swabbing supplies are available for healthcare providers who need them. To request kits, email [email protected] and ask to be connected with a member of the RIDOH COVID-19 testing team.

A swabbing kit includes three items inside a biobag: one nasal swab, one viral transport media (VTM) tube, and one absorbent pad.
Swabbing kit pick up occurs at the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency (RIEMA) warehouse at 2700 Plainfield Pike in Cranston.

All Rhode Islanders can also self-schedule a free COVID-19 test at a State-run test site or a local Walgreens Pharmacy, regardless of whether they have symptoms or insurance.

For more information about COVID-19 testing in Rhode Island, including an up-to-date list of testing sites and guidance about testing for different populations, visit covid.ri.gov/testing

Obtaining Test Results

If a patient was scheduled for testing through schedulecovidtest.ri.gov, the ordering clinician will receive lab results directly from the commercial lab. Please communicate these results to your patient. Note: To ensure proper processing of test results, it is important that a provider’s National Provider Identifier (NPI) and fax number are correctly entered.

RIDOH encourages coordination between primary care providers and respiratory clinics in providing and obtaining patient test results.

Anyone tested for COVID-19 at a State-run test site can access an official record of their test result on portal.ri.gov/results. All test results reported to RIDOH are available at this site. This step-by-step guide explains how to use the online result portal.

Patients who got a COVID-19 test at a medical office, retail pharmacy, in their workplace, or in school should contact the location where they were tested for a copy of their result. More information about COVID-19 test results is available here.

Positive Test Results

If a patient tests positive for COVID-19 on a PCR or NAAT test, inform them that they need to isolate immediately. Anyone who tests positive should also inform their close contacts to quarantine and possibly get tested. A representative from RIDOH will also contact the patient directly for follow up. MORE

Request a Test for a Homebound Patient

Testing for homebound patients

RIDOH and the Rhode Island Executive Office of Health and Human Services (OHHS) have partnered with Alert Ambulance to provide COVID-19 tests for homebound, non-ambulatory patients.
Process for requesting homebound test:

Medical provider must complete the State health lab's test requisition form. This form serves as the medical provider’s order and must be completed in full.
Medical provider must send the completed homebound test request form via secure email to [email protected] or fax it to (401)-384-7350.
The subject line should read "Homebound Test Request" and include the patient’s first name and last initial.
Medical Provider must attest to client being homebound and non-ambulatory
- If the client is ambulatory but has no transportation, they should be referred to MTM at 855-330-9131 (TTY: 711). Lack of transportation does not qualify a person for a homebound test.
If patient has active home health services, the medical provider should determine if the home health agency is able to administer a COVID-19 test before requesting through this process
Someone must be in the home to answer the door (family member or home care agency).
Alert Ambulance will provide the medical provider with the test appointment date. Medical provider will notify the client of the test appointment date.

Reporting Cases

Report any positive cases of COVID-19 to RIDOH within 24 hours, including reinfection and vaccination breakthrough cases. The ordering provider should direct anyone with a positive test result to isolate, whether from rapid antigen or PCR testing.

For reporting positive results from testing you have ordered and sent out through a laboratory system:

Report positive results only.
Please include the patient’s name, DOB, testing date, and testing site.
For reinfection and vaccination breakthrough cases, include the initial infection date and/or the patient's vaccine product and injection dates.
You may report by either of the following methods. We strongly encourage you to send by secure email if possible, as our fax machine can get backed up. For the time being, we do not recommend calling 401-222-8022 with positive results due to phone waiting times.
1. Email using secure email. Send the test result to [email protected] with the subject: LAB POSITIVE. Attach the result report to the email or copy and paste the report into the body of the email.
  - Please note: This email address is for healthcare providers only. To submit a self-test result to RIDOH, visit portal.ri.gov/s/selftestresult.
2. Fax to 401-222-2488. Include a cover letter (re: LAB POSITIVE).

For reporting point-of-care and rapid test results performed at your site:

Report all positive and negative results.
Email Chris Jenkins for information on how to send POC results: [email protected]
Do not send results to Christine Jenkins.

It's no longer necessary to report Patients Under Investigation (PUIs). Do not use the PUI form to report positive results to RIDOH.

For reporting possible cases of Multi-Inflammatory Disease in Children (MIS-C), please call the RIDOH Center for Acute Infectious Disease Epidemiology at 401-222-2577 Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m-4:30 p.m. (401-276-8046 after-hours).

Quarantine and Isolation

Patient Resources

When do I need to Isolate or Quarantine for COVID-19? (web page) Eng | Esp | Port
Close Contact Quarantine Calculator (Excel file) Eng | Esp | Port
RIDOH Letter Requests: Rhode Islanders who need to provide verification of their quarantine status, isolation status, or test results may request a letter by submitting this online form. Letters will be sent by email and are usually ready in 72 hours. Instructions Types of Letters

Provider Resources

The following resources and tools help providers assess whether a staff member or patient who tests positive for COVID-19 may have exposed others in the practice. RIDOH encourages practices to use these tools to identify and inform staff and patients who are close contacts and should quarantine, and to instruct them to self-monitor for symptoms for 14 days from exposure.

COVID-Associated Conditions

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now recommends reporting of MIS-C and MIS-A. Clinical criteria for each condition follows. Report cases to Rhode Island’s Center for Acute Infectious Disease Epidemiology by calling 401-222-2577 Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. If after hours, please call RIDOH’s answering service at 401-276-8046 to connect with the medical staff on call.

Multi-System Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)

MIS-C is a condition associated with infection from COVID-19. Clinical criteria for MIS-C diagnosis include:

Younger than age 21 and
Fever, laboratory evidence of inflammation, severe illness requiring hospitalization, multisystem organ involvement and
No alternative plausible diagnosis and
Positive for current or recent COVID-19 infection by RT-PCR, serology, or antigen test or exposure to a suspected or confirmed COVID-19 case within the four weeks before symptoms started

Click here for clinical information from Hasbro Children's Hospital and additional resources on MIS-C.

Multi-System Inflammatory Syndrome in Adults (MIS-A)

MIS-A is a condition similar to MIS-C, but in adults. For the MIS-A case definition, providers can use either the same definition for MIS-C or the definition used in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) series.

The MIS-A case definition used in the report includes the following five criteria:

Severe illness requiring hospitalization in a person age 21 or older and
Positive test result for current or previous COVID-19 infection (nucleic acid, antigen, or antibody) during admission or in the previous 12 weeks and
Severe dysfunction of one or more extrapulmonary organ systems (e.g., hypotension or shock, cardiac dysfunction, arterial or venous thrombosis or thromboembolism, or acute liver injury) and
Laboratory evidence of severe inflammation (e.g., elevated CRP, ferritin, D-dimer, or interleukin-6) and
Absence of severe respiratory illness (to exclude patients in which inflammation and organ dysfunction might be attributable simply to tissue hypoxia)

Long COVID

Long COVID, also known as "long haul" COVID, has been described as subacute and chronic multi-system post-infectious sequelae of acute COVID-19 infection. It is distinct from MIS-C and MIS-A.

Referrals

For specialty care of patients with Long COVID, primary care providers can refer their patients to the Infectious Disease and Immunology Clinic at Lifespan.

Fax referrals to the Infectious Diseases and Immunology Center at 401-793-7401
Send referrals within Lifespan through LifeChart as "Referral to Infectious Diseases"

Resources

CDC, Evaluating and Caring for Patients with Post-COVID Conditions: Interim Guidance

Insurance Information

OHIC Resources

Rhode Island Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner (OHIC) COVID-19 Information
Guidance regarding Coverage for COVID-19 PCR and Antigen Testing
Reinstatement of Temporary Emergency Measures Regarding Benefit Determination Review and Network Plans and Health Care Accessibility and Quality Assurance

Key Resources

Clinical Requirements and Guidance

RIDOH advises all healthcare providers to follow Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards and US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance in their clinical settings.