February 2025 Newsletter
Presented by Ronda Polansky M.S. CCC-SLP & Patheous Health
Happy Valentines Day!
Where there is love, there is life.
DiagnosTex and Patheous Health are ONE TEAM to be your preferred provider in Dysphagia Imaging!
Combining our strengths and becoming Patheous Health has allowed us to have the opportunity to serve the Dallas/Fort Worth Area with both MBSS and FEES! Make contact with our DFW Account Executive, Misty Stephens, to explore the possibilities and find out how we can support your needs. Let’s enhance your resources together! Please feel free to reach out her for assistance with any services we offer. Contact Misty at mstephens@patheoushealth.com OR 252-676-0952.
NEED CEs?
Patheous Health offers a variety of upcoming courses and live webinars. Classes are offered in a self-study or live webinar format. We know, life happens and all of our live webinars will be available for replay for a specific timeframe. Also, from time to time we offer bundled class offerings which gives you extra knowledge while also bringing some savings to your wallet.
Check out PatheousHealth.com for more details.
Live Webinar: Complex Decision-Making in Dysphagia Management February 13, 2025, 6-7:30pm EST.
Recording available February 14-28, 2025.
DiagnosTEX Outpatient Clinic
Open to ALL ages, call and schedule with us Monday through Friday. DiagnosTEX is changing the standard of care for dysphagia evaluation in DFW for both adults and pediatrics! Come experience the one-of-a-kind customized concierge MBSS experience at our office in North Richland Hills!
Visit dysphagiadiagnostex.com for more information on scheduling and other dysphagia resources. You can also contact the office directly at 817-514-6271.
DiagnosTEX QA – TSHA Communicologist
Ronda Polansky’s Part 4 of the 4-part Series on Medical Economics Beyond the Classroom: “Call to Action: All Politics are Local, Communicate with Elected Officials”. is now out in the January-February issue and can be read on TSHA website, search Communicologist. https://www.txsha.org/Education/Communicologist/Communicologist-Issues. If you have not read Part 1-3 of this series, they can also be found on the website in the archives.
Misty Stephens is our DFW area Account Executive
Mason Jones, will be joining her team to assist the pediatric side of our practice. Mason has been with DiagnosTEX for many years and has worked the front lines with the clinical staff on our mobile clinic. She and Mason are both available to you for any assistance you may need at your facilities regarding the dysphagia instrumental services that we offer. Contact them at Mstephens@patheoushealth.com and Mjones@patheoushealth.com.
Other News
Medicare updates
Physicians and health systems expressed their disappointment when Congress and the Biden administration didn’t address cuts in Medicare payments in the spending package approved just before the holidays. Now, physicians are seeing their frustration compounded by the fact that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services have announced plans for a payment boost for Medicare Advantage plans. CMS says Medicare Advantage plans are likely to see payments rise by 4.3% from 2025 to 2026, or an increase of $21 billion. When Congress approved a short-term spending plan to avoid a government shutdown just before Christmas, the package kept the Medicare cuts in physician payments in place. An earlier version of the spending package would have included a smaller (0.3%) cut in physician payments, which doctors didn’t love but would’ve been better than the final package. Doctors have urged Congress to revamp the way Medicare pays physicians to reflect their rising costs. A new Congress is meeting — it’s time for a new approach to physician payment reform.
Unpredictable Winter Weather in Texas
A Texas winter blasted through the front door in January, and only lasted a couple days. Our weather can change overnight! This kind of weather obviously becomes a problem for anyone who travel our back roads and interstates. Most of our daily routine is traveling extensively in all directions! As winter approaches and the threat of severe weather conditions arise, DiagnosTEX owners and drivers will evaluate the conditions of the roads and DiagnosTEX will contact all scheduled facilities immediately if we are unable to meet our appointments for that day. If the weather conditions are unsafe for driving, we will cancel the day and reschedule the studies as promptly as possible. Even though roads may be passable in one area, does not mean passing through another area to get there is possible and we have to take all routes and directions into consideration. We have precious and fragile cargo on board on mobile clinics, most importantly our staff!
Anyone having unhappy flashbacks?
It is winter and now we have COVID, Flu, RSV, and Strep and the good ole common cold. Patients are still our highest priority but so is safety for all involved! Healthcare staff is allowed to observe the MBSS standing at the front of the van with face mask if there is COVID in the building. During these winter months, we are staying diligent in protecting all of us against the uptick in cases. If there is anyone with even a slight cough or runny nose, we ask that you not be on the mobile clinic observing.
Dysphagia Tidbit – Don’t overlook dysphagia symptoms
If you’re having difficulty swallowing or getting food down, your next stop should be your doctor’s office. “Dysphagia is like an alarm feature,” says Amir Masoud, MD, the medical co-director of Hartford HealthCare Neurogastroenterology and Motility Center. “It should be an automatic trigger to see your doctor or gastroenterologist immediately.” Your doctor may recommend imaging scans, swallowing tests or an upper endoscopy. And the good news is that treatment works. “The majority of the causes of dysphagia are manageable,” says Dr. Masoud. Dysphagia is a common sequalae of many diseases, including head and neck cancer, stroke and neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. Dysphagia can lead to dehydration, malnutrition, aspiration pneumonia, increased lengths in hospital stays and even death. Swallowing disorders can make people feel depressed and socially isolated due to their condition. Thus, intervention should begin as quickly as possible with accurate and quality diagnostic exams. “Eating is one of the joys of life, but eating without thinking about the actual process is something that we can take for granted,” says Dr. Masoud. Our goal here in DFW is to do what’s best for the patient to help them regain the ability to perform these activities that we take for granted.”
The DFW area of Patheous Health/DiagnosTEX will be partnering with Savorease through our diagnostic imaging teams
The term “melt in the mouth” is often used to describe food that is soft, airy and delicious. Savorease, started by culinary chef and oral reconstruction specialist Dr. Reva Barewal, is taking things a bit more literally. It is a nutritious plant-based finger food created for people experience dysphagia, esp. with solid foods. This product is different as it addresses people’s cravings, such as real vegetable-based crackers that are in solid form, has a crunch, yet rapidly dissolves in the mouth within seconds. This texture can be classified as a transitional food. It can satisfy, yet also restore the sensation of eating solid food, but without the challenges of an oral dysphagia with solid food. Three research studies have been conducted examining the benefits across acute care, chronic care and the physical properties of this food in comparison to existing transitional food. Dr Barewal states that all of the data is compelling and exciting and she is looking at more studies to continue growing our evidence in many different subpopulations, including children. Savorease’s products are available for sale in the U.S.