December 2013 Newsletter
Clinical Café Newsletter
By: Ronda Polansky, M.S. CCC-SLP
December 2013
During this season, our thoughts turn gratefully to those who have made our success here in D/FW possible. It is DiagnosTEX’s Anniversary month and December marks our 10 year anniversary!
In this spirit we say simply but sincerely, may the gift of peace the surpasses all understanding, as well as indescribable joy and happiness be yours at Christmas and throughout the New Year of 2014!
Everyone at DiagnosTEX wishes all of you a very
Merry Christmas!
CEU Conference – It was such a great group of SLP”s at the conference last month! Had a great time with you all. Thank you for coming and thank you for the wonderful comments and CE evaluations! It is more fun to get your ethics hours, while having fun doing it, we did!!
PRESS RELEASE! Ampcare ESP™ received FDA clearance Ampcare, LLC has received US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance to market an innovative dysphagia system to address swallowing disorders that will serve as an invaluable electrotherapy tool for SLP’s. Ampcare ESP™ (Effective Swallowing Protocol) received FDA clearance on October 31st, and is currently taking orders for the therapy system. The system includes the specialized ESP™ parameters in a device, unique electrodes for submental and facial placement, a posture device that serves to stabilize the head/neck and is part of a resistive exercise protocol. This will add significant additional resources when compared to other E-stim techniques. Ampcare is excited to offer this to SLP’s as an option for dysphagia treatment. For more information on products and upcoming CE training courses, visit the website at www.ampcarellc.com and/or contact us at info@ampcarellc.com. !
The 2014 DiagnosTEX Dysphagia Calendar will be ready to hand out this month! J
Educational handout for treating SLPs– Dysphagia Diets for the Holiday Season for Family Education
DiagnosTEX Christmas treats to the SLPs – This is just a token of our appreciation for your support and friendship. DiagnosTEX thanks you for the honor of being part of your dysphagia management team and for trusting us with your patients!
DiagnosTEX 2013 December Holiday Schedule – DiagnosTEX will operate Monday (12/23), Tuesday (12/24) and Friday (12/27) the week of Christmas. We will also run Monday (12/30), Tuesday (12/31), Thursday (1/2) and Friday (1/3) the following week of New Years. We want to meet all of your MBSS needs; we know PO feeding becomes very important on several levels to many patients around the holidays. We must also be considerate to all of our DiagnosTEX employees and their families. Please keep these holiday schedules in mind when scheduling your MBSS in December!
******Please take note and keep in mind during this busy time of year******
ASAP requests often cannot be accommodated to the satisfaction of those requesting it.
Specific requests for specific times and/or days become exponentially difficult to accommodate and therefore, we may be unable to quickly schedule your patient with any specific time and day requests.
Please notify your staff, patients, and families as such.
Being mobile allows the convenience of the service coming to you – not for the customized flexibility of schedules and times. We must schedule our clinics for schedule efficiency and cost effectiveness.
If you or the patient and family require a specific time and/or day,
please consider a free-standing outpatient facility (e.g., a hospital).
Christmas Ideas for your favorite CFY or SLP treating dysphagia!
ABOVE and BEYOND
Patient, Caregiver, and Healthcare Professional Educational Reference Sheets and Handouts for Effective Dysphagia Rehabilitation.
By: Ronda Polansky M.S. CCC-SLP
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 must have booklet in your therapy bag!! Cost: $40.00. Holiday Discount $30.00 (+S&H). Call us and we will get one out to you! Thank you to all who have ordered already and have also referred others SLP’s to it.
What You Can’t See at Bedside Educational DVD – $60.00, Holiday Price $40.00 (+S &H)
DVD includes 12 MBSS showing aspiration, Zenker’s Diverticulum, Parkinson’s disease, Pharyngeal obstruction etc.
Incomplete HX forms – No longer will we accept HX consult forms with incomplete information. If there is no reason for consult showing medical necessity, no legitimate diagnosis (i.e. HTN alone is NOT a diagnosis for dysphagia), and no diet or indication of treatment, the study will NOT be put on the pending list until complete information is provided to us. The HX/consult forms are included in all requests from attorneys and also submitted to Medicare and we need to show we had complete and thorough information showing medical necessity, provided by the person requesting the consult. We know everyone is busy and some days are better than others but our responsibility as healthcare professionals cannot be sacrificed. Please help us in providing ALL necessary information we need to complete your MBSS in a timely manner.
Observers and Visitors on the Van Due to new HIPAA guidelines and other HITECH regulations, as well as our unique work setting, we are having to implement more restrictions in regards to observers and people on the van. If you attended the November conference, we discussed this at length. We can no longer allow more than 2-3 people on the van to observe the study and the treating therapist must confirm that the observer is an approved family member and/or health care staff prior to the study. If more people are required or requested, it must be cleared with the SLP and/or MD on the mobile clinic that day. If you have any questions about this, feel free to call us.
QA follow –up We are following up on all the patients we did the month of October to complete our QA for this year! You may be asked about your previous patients when we are at the facilities doing other studies or we may call you on the phone to follow up. Thank you in advance for your help and support with this important information. We use it to further our profession at local and national levels. We will share the results with you when we complete them, they are always so impressive!
Many of you have shared these last 10 years with us and as we have worked together there grows a special bond between us all. This December, Linda, one of our original employees is retiring. She has been a huge part of our DiagnosTEX family and the success of this company in so many ways. There are not words to express our gratitude and love for the years of service she gave. We know those who have worked with her and come to know her over the phone feel the same as we do. We wish her nothing but health and happiness in the next chapter of her life!
We started a while back looking for a replacement for Linda and with much prayer, we have found someone who will fill her spot with ease and professionalism. Beverly will be the new heart beat of the front desk and Karen will be her support. We are so blessed to have them both. They will carry-on the same quality and care Linda put into this job!