January 2023 Newsletter

Celebrate endings—for they precede new beginnings. Life's not about expecting, hoping and wishing, it's about doing, being and becoming and overcoming. Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right or at least do it better than next year. Reset, Refocus, Recreate, Restart!

Look forward to working together with you in 2023!

Updated 2023 DiagnosTEX paperwork

Updated Medicare fee schedules mean updated paperwork, no
matter how you look at it. DiagnosTEX will update the service agreement fee schedules and send out to all facilities. Any new facility or change in companies will be required to sign a new service agreement. We have had many SLP’s state recently “you never use to require this”, or “you never use to require this much
information”. Please understand, anything that we have not required in the past and do now, is usually not something we just woke up one morning and decided we wanted to collect. We agree with you, the less paperwork the better BUT.......... these are things we are being required to do by payment sources so that we are able to get paid for the services we are providing to your patients.

New Beginnings

DiagnosTEX Outpatient Clinic – IS NOW OPEN on Fridays at 8913 Mid Cities
Blvd. Suite 100, North Richland Hills. We are seeing both adults and peds! Call us to learn more! Ashley Stone will be our new pediatric SLP. She has worked in the profession for 8 years, specializing in pediatrics and most recently employed at Cooks Children in Fort Worth. She has been instrumental in helping us initiate this program, and we all look forward to expanding our specialized MBSS services in this area to all who need us.

Unpredictable Weather in Texas

It’s been a warm winter... so far! - Unfortunately, in Texas
we typically do not get a beautiful flaky snowfall, we get ice (usually black ice). Our weather can change overnight! This kind of weather obviously becomes a problem for anyone who travels. 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 cargo on board on mobile clinics, most importantly our staff!

TSHA is scheduled to be in Austin February 23-25

Registration for the 67th Annual Convention & Exhibition is now open, register before January 16th for lowest rate. Ampcare will have a booth! Look forward to reconnecting with everyone. I will be presenting with Lisa Milliken, MA, SLP-CCC, FNAP, CDP, RAC- CT on a course titled Dysphagia in the Cardiopulmonary Patient – Establishing the Best Practice on Friday February 24, 2023 from 1:30 PM – 3:30 PM. Hope you can join in on the session!

TSHA Business Management Committee 2023

Pam Ragland and I are the new 2023 committee chairs for the TSHA Business Management Committee. We feel we have expanded the committee in 2023 with strong leaders and talented members to provide their expertise to support our purpose to provide guidance and ongoing support to other clinicians in a wide
variety of practice settings which include private practice, SNF, Rehab, HH, and telepractice. Historically this committee has focused on professional issues and educated on developing a private practice, effective documentation, proper billing practices, in addition to the overall ethical and professional standards of
practice. Our goal this year is to set up social media site to address professional and billing questions in these settings and hope to have a HH open to the public at TSHA in 2023. Please let us know if you have any questions, we will connect you with the right people of this committee to answer any questions you may
have regarding any of the topics above.

Dysphagia Tidbit

The difference between the MODIFIED BARIUM SWALLOW STUDY and a BARIUM SWALLOW

It is extremely important to educate your physicians, other healthcare staff,
insurance companies and your patients on this difference! Many entities and people confuse the Modified Barium Swallow study (MBSS) with a Barium Swallow, even though there are several differences between the two exams. The simple facts are a Modified Barium Swallow test assesses the way you swallow in
three different phases: the oral, pharyngeal, and the upper esophagus.

Comparatively, a Barium Swallow looks at the way liquid passes through the esophagus and into the stomach. Other differences between the
two tests include the following:

• Before An MBSS, there is no prep....you can eat before this exam. Before a Barium Swallow, you cannot eat or drink anything for 12 hours before.
• During an MBSS, you will remain seated upright in a normal eating position. During a Barium Swallow, you will lie down flat on a table or your side.
• You may eat or drink various textures of foods and liquids during an MBSS. During a Barium Swallow, the test will involve only drinking cups of liquid barium.

Hospitals are not popular places, esp. these days. Hospitals are overloaded with many respiratory infections this time of year anyway. I don’t know many people who look forward to being admitted to a hospital or let alone go sit in the waiting room with other people who will likely be ill. Call DiagnosTEX, we will come to you and ensure the testing process is simple, convenient, and hassle-free. We are dedicated to providing seniors with a more convenient, effective approach to MBS studies in a compassionate, committed manner. For more information call us at 817-514-6271.

Need a New Calendar?

The 2023 DiagnosTEX Dysphagia Calendar is out! You will get yours next time we see you if you have not already.