April 2021 Newsletter
Happy Spring & Happy Easter!
"April hath put a spirit of youth in everything."
—William Shakespeare
DiagnosTEX Family has grown!
We have 4 new employees we would like to introduce you to.
Bea Wright is our new referral coordinator; Lanell Throckmorton is our new A/R Coordinator, and Antonio Sampson is our new tech. Bethany Svedeman is our new SLP, she will be training with us over the next few months to work on the mobile unit. Bethany will also be assisting us with developing our new peds outpatient program this year, as her background is in pediatrics. We are happy they are a part of our company and look forward to advancing DiagnosTEX to new levels in 2021 with them.
MBSS Orders
Once DiagnosTEX receives an order for an MBSS, we are now officially in the line of care. It is our responsibility to get this scheduled when we are in the area. A written order, is our “go-ahead” to see the patient and complete the study, whether a family or healthcare staff is present. We cannot hold an active order, just because a family member or staff cannot be present on a particular day. If you are not ready for the patient to be seen, please hold the paperwork until you are ready to schedule the patient. We will proceed to attempt to schedule a patient and we are required to document in our records who specifically declined the opportunity for us to see the patient, in the event of an audit and or legal case, etc. investigating the timing of the instrumental evaluation. This is a liability issue everyone in the line of care needs to be keenly aware of.
Get prepared! It’s getting close…..MAY is Better Speech and Hearing Month
Be prepared next month, we need to educate now more than ever! COVID Long - haulers do not recover as quickly as others and some long-term effects are respiratory. Rehab plays a vital role for improving COVID related impairments many are experiencing. COVID Long - haulers do not recover as quickly as others and some long-term effects are respiratory. Rehab plays a vital role for improving COVID related impairments many are experiencing. The virus has driven up demands for services and the population of patient with dysphagia due to COVID tend to be more severely affected at onset of treatment then other diagnosis and stay in dysphagia treatment longer ( research states 15days versus 9 days) More male than female patients with COVID received swallowing services in recent ASHA NOMS data. Ninety -six percent if the patients diagnosed with COVID are treated for swallowing problems compared to 82% of other medical diagnoses. The May event provides opportunities to raise awareness. ASHA has many resources to help you celebrate BHSM every day. www.asha.org . Some good educational material to share can also be found in the DiagnosTEX Bookstore and the Barium Barista Clinical Cafe at www.dysphagiadiagnostex.com. Check it out!
ABOVE and BEYOND
By: Ronda Polansky M.S. CCC-SLP
Patient, Caregiver, and Healthcare Professional Educational Reference Sheets and Handouts for Effective Dysphagia Rehabilitation. Over 30 handouts on specific disorders in dysphagia in ONE location to use in your practice, plus a resource section for SLP’s on cranial nerve testing, pharyngeal exercises, and treatment techniques. A need to have booklet in your therapy bag!! Cost: $40.00. (plus S&H). Discounted to $30.00 for MBSH Month. Call us and we will get one out to you!
What You Can Not See at Bedside (DVD)
Copies of MBSS studies for education of staff and families on various disorders and clear episodes of penetrations and aspirations. Cost - $40.00 (plus S & H). Discounted to $30.00 for MBSH Month. Great educational tool for anyone! This is the same videos we presented at TSHA.
An SLP Should NEVER Lose Their Voice: Advocate for Proper Dysphagia Evaluations
Material to assist in educating Physicians, Administrators, Nurses and other Medical Professionals on Dysphagia and Modified Barium Swallow Studies.
Ampcare's Online Dysphagia Training
Don’t forget about Ampcare's Online Dysphagia Training. Whether it's for continuing education for ASHA credit or for investigating how Ampcare's ESP is providing better and faster clinical outcomes. For all licensed SLPs, (8 hours of advanced ASHA CE). Discount code: Ampcare Cares $50 off
https://www.swallowtherapy.com/product/online-course/
Ampcare Upcoming Virtual CEs
- April 20 & 21
- May 5 & 6
- May 15 (limited seating)
- June 22 & 23
Masks, COVID precautions etc.
DiagnosTEX will continue all current COVID precautions at all times while seeing our patients despite the governor lifting restrictions for the State of Texas last month.
There are no simple answers right now, as we work through vaccines and changes in CDC regulations and mandates. The obstacles come when many facilities have implemented their own policies that have driven patient care. COVID protection and dysphagia evaluations differ across settings. DiagnosTEX has worked through the entire pandemic and we will comply with regulations, weighing the risks of our small contained environment by taking every precaution to maximize the safety of our patients and each other.
NOW AVAILABLE: PCR Testing!
We can now offer the BioFire PCR testing. One test, 19 targets with results in 45 minutes. This panel tests 19 different respiratory pathogens, including 4 bacterial infections that can be treated, and of course Covid-19. If your facility is interested in this type of testing, give us a call, this can cut down on all types of infections that can run rampant in LTC settings.
Digital Copy of MBSS
DiagnosTEX will phasing out DVD’s this year once things return to a more recognizable norm. We have been unable to find DVD recorders/players to replace the ones we have. We will not be providing any copies on jump drives because of the risk of unauthorized downloads to other devices and the history of irresponsible use of information on social media sites. Sadly, it only takes a few to ruin it for many and the risks are too extremely high for us take. We will work towards providing future access through a portal on our electronic medical record.