WebPT Blog - APTA
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17 CommentsApr 18, 2013| Heidi Jannenga PT
Today’s blog post comes from WebPT Co-Founder Heidi Jannenga, PT, MPT, ATC/L.4/18/2013 UPDATE
Woohoo! On April 15, 2013, California’s Senate voted against SB381, the bill that would have prevented physical therapists from being able to provide manipulative care. This marks a huge victory for the physical therapists in California and for our industry as a whole. And that deserves some serious celebration. But, even though the bill did not pass, our work is far from over. The fact that this bill even made it to the Senate floor proves that people still do not fully understand the expertise of physical therapists. So we must increase our efforts to educate the public on the benefits of PT and why we are the musculoskeletal experts. When people—our peers, our patients, and our potential patients—think back (or knee, or pelvis, or foot...) pain, we need to ensure they absolutely think “physical therapy” as their solution. With that in mind, let’s turn this comment thread into a brainstorming session. What can we do to spread the word about the awesomeness that is PT?
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Feb 20, 2013| Charlotte Bohnett
Today’s blog post comes from Ann Wendel, PT. Ann is the owner of PranaPT, a member of WebPT, and an active social media participant (@PranaPT). Thanks, Ann!
Grab a cup of coffee (or a stiff drink) because we’re going to talk about Medicare. Currently, there are two issues that we as physical therapists need to be aware of because they affect how we treat patients on a daily basis.First, it is vital for all therapists to pay attention to what is going on in Congress regarding the Medicare Therapy Cap. On April 14, 2011, sponsor Rep. Jim Gerlach introduced H.R. 1546 (112th): Medicare Access to Rehabilitation Services Act of 2011. As summarized by the Library of Congress, H.R. 1546 amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to repeal the cap on outpatient physical therapy, speech-language pathology, and occupational therapy services of the type furnished by a physician or as an incident to physicians' services. Unfortunately, as listed on the govtrack.us website, the bill died a quick death and Congress subsequently referred it to the Ways and Means Committee on the same day. And there the act lies, awaiting the committee chair’s decision as to whether it moves past the committee stage.
The members of the Ways and Means Committee are listed here. We need to contact these folks to ask them to support H.R. 1546 (112th): Medicare Access to Rehabilitation Services Act of 2011 to allow Medicare patients to receive the rehabilitative care they need to live a full and functional life. Here is their contact information:
Ways and Means Committee Office
1102 Longworth House Office Building
Washington D.C. 20515
P: 202-225-3625
F: 202-225-2610 -
Jan 21, 2013| Erica Cohen
You’ve finished school—graduated with your masters or doctorate in your rehab specialty—but that doesn’t mean your learning days are over. Far from it. Whether it’s informal learning from your peers, brushing up on the latest research in academic journals, or attending formal lectures or clinicals, a therapist’s learning is never done. It can’t be. How else can you stay current? To make sure all licensed therapists are doing just that—staying current—state governing boards mandate continuing education units in order to stay licensed. But with so many choices when it comes to CEUs, how do you find the right ones for you and your practice? You research, research, research. Starting with your state.
CEU requirements vary state to state, so check in with your licensing board before planning your curriculum. In Arizona, for example, a PT must complete 20 contact hours of continuing competences during each two (2) year licensure period. Also, because of the variety of conversions organizations use to determine continuing education units (CEUs), the rules require “contact hours” rather than CEUs be the measurement of continuing competence activities. At least ten (10) of those 20 contact hours must be from activities that an accredited medical, PT, or health care education program; a national or state medical, PT, or health care association (or a component of that association); or a national medical, PT or health care specialty society approves, regardless of whether the activities are on-site, online, or home study.
Now, this isn’t the case for all states. Several do not allow therapists to complete their CEUs in any format other than on-site, in person. While this greatly limits your options, there are still plenty of ways to locate and rack up informational, educational, and interesting continuing education units in person—without spending a fortune.
Here are some resources to help in your search:
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Jan 16, 2013| Charlotte Bohnett
#SolvePT’s Tuesday night Twitter chat on January 8, 2013, focused on the topic of trade shows and conferences—specifically how to get the most out of them. With CSM 2013 next week in sunny San Diego, it was definitely a timely discussion. So, how do you get the most out of conferences? Here are five tips:- Be selective. There are local, regional, national, and even international conferences and events, spanning a plethora of topics from specific private practice physical therapy to general health care. While trade show after parties can be pretty rockin’, and a change of scenery is always nice, you and your practice don’t need to attend everything. Conferences aren’t Pokemon, after all, so be selective.
Choose the shows that are most relevant and will prove most educational. Additionally, not everyone from one practice can all drop everything and attend the same shows. Consider researching local and regional shows that may provide similar education and training as national events and then enacting a rotation plan for large-scale shows.
- Be selective. There are local, regional, national, and even international conferences and events, spanning a plethora of topics from specific private practice physical therapy to general health care. While trade show after parties can be pretty rockin’, and a change of scenery is always nice, you and your practice don’t need to attend everything. Conferences aren’t Pokemon, after all, so be selective.
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Jan 7, 2013| Erica Cohen
Today's blog post comes from WebPT Co-Founder Heidi Jannenga, PT, MPT, ATC/L.
Happy New Year! I’m sure by now you’ve made your list of resolutions―or if that's really not your thing, you’ve at least considered some professional and personal goals for 2013. What’s our goal? Here at WebPT we’re forever committed to helping you achieve greatness in practice. As such, we’re kicking off 2013 with an entire month of tips, tricks, and how-tos to help you achieve greatness in therapy practice—everything from how to hire top talent and choose the right CEUs to maximize your time at a conference and create a great blog. So whether you’re following us on social, checking out our blog, or joining us for our webinar, you’ll get to see a wealth of helpful info.
As you strive to be better in business and practice, let’s consider the PT profession as a whole. How can we truly achieve greatness together?
Recently, I read a post written by Selena Horner on Evidence in Motion about our industry’s lack of collaboration and intense focus on competition. I’ll admit, albeit reluctantly, that I agree with her thesis: physical therapists, on the whole, do not collaborate well. However, I refuse to give up hope. Selena (@SnippetPhysTher) ends her article with wondering how our industry would change if we devoted more time to collaboration. I’m here to say that we can no longer wonder. We must act because collaboration is exactly what our profession needs to earn us the respect, autonomy, and direct access we so desire. Of course, saying to act is easier than doing, so let’s examine the obstacles we must overcome.
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Nov 29, 2012| Erica Cohen
Today's blog post comes from Senior Copywriters Erica Cohen and Char Bohnett.
Home Health
In 2008, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) implemented the first refinements to the Home Health Prospective Payment System (HH PPS) since its inception on October 1, 2000. One of the major changes included discontinuing the use of a single 10-therapy threshold for the purpose of payment and instead implementing three therapy thresholds at six, 14, and 20 visits. Additionally, the Affordable Care Act requires CMS to update the HH PPS rates annually; these rates are effective January 1st of each year.
According to PT in Motion News Now, on November 2nd, CMS released the final rule for the HH PPS for 2013. “The rule finalizes a reduction in rates of 1.32%, which is approximately a $10 million decrease to payments for the home health 60-day episode for [calendar year] 2013.”
Also of importance, CMS finalized “three revisions regarding the requirement that a qualified therapist complete a functional reassessment of the patient at the 14th and the 20th visit, and every 30 days.
- “If a qualified therapist missed a reassessment visit, therapy coverage would resume with the visit during which the qualified therapist completed the late reassessment, not the visit after the therapist completed the late reassessment.
- “In cases where multiple therapy disciplines are involved, if the required reassessment visit was missed for any one of the therapy disciplines for which therapy services were being provided, therapy coverage would cease only for that particular therapy discipline.
- “In cases where the patient is receiving more than one type of therapy, qualified therapists must complete their reassessment visits during the 11th, 12th, or 13th visit for the required 13th visit reassessment and the 17th, 18th, or 19th visit for the required 19th visit reassessment.” (However, if this is not feasible without providing an extra unnecessary visit or delaying a visit, then you can do so during the visit scheduled to occur closest to the 14th Medicare-covered therapy visit, but no later than the 13th.)
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Nov 20, 2012| Charlotte Bohnett
Today's blog post comes from Senior Copywriters Erica Cohen and Char Bohnett.
‘Tis the season for PQRS. Why the hullabaloo? Because beginning in 2013, not complying with PQRS requirements will result in penalties, which CMS will assess as fines (starting at 1.5% of your fee schedule) in 2015. However, if you are compliant, you will earn a 0.5% incentive payment on your total allowed charges during the reporting period. With the impendency and necessity of PQRS reporting, we’ve dedicated this month to blog posts on all things PQRS.Recently, CMS released new information about the PQRS 2013 outcome measures. Compliance guru Tom Ambury will be contributing a blog post with more details in the coming weeks but for now, here’s a brief rundown:
According to the APTA, these are the top 5 measures PTs and OTs used in 2010:
- 131 Pain Assessment Prior to Initiation of Patient Treatment*
- 154 Falls: Risk Assessment*
- 130 Documentation and Verification of Current Medications in the Medical Record*
- 155 Falls: Plan of Care*
- 128 Preventative Care and Screening: Body Mass Index (BMI) Screening and Follow-Up*
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Nov 19, 2012| Charlotte Bohnett
Today's blog post comes from WebPT Senior Copywriters Erica Cohen and Charlotte Bohnett.Like the 90s hip-hop-themed title of this blog post implies, G-codes may be new, but they’re nothing to fret over. Essentially, effective July 1, 2013, CMS will require therapists to report new G-codes, moving us closer to incorporating function and functional progress within our treatment. But the good news is that you should already be checking (and documenting) functional progress through your short- and long-term goal updates at the intial evaluation, 10-visit mark minimum, and at discharge; now it’s really just about linking a G-code with that progress.
So, what exactly is a G-code? And what are the new ones?
G-codes are a way for CMS to collect information on their beneficiaries’ function and condition on claims forms. According to the APTA’s Highlights of the 2013 Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule, “by collecting data on beneficiary function over an episode of therapy services, CMS hopes to better understand the beneficiary population that uses therapy services and how their functional limitations change as a result of therapy services.” While CMS does not plan to use this information to change coverage policies, it will assist in outpatient therapy services payment reform.Here are just a few of the 42 new G-codes you can choose from to describe your patient’s functional limitation that is the primary reason for the therapy services:
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Nov 7, 2012| Charlotte Bohnett
Today’s blog post comes from WebPT Senior Copywriters Erica Cohen and Charlotte Bohnett.We do this every year: waiting and wondering what Medicare is going to do. As the news trickles in—and details are still coming—it all seems as expected so far. So what are the big takeaways? Here is WebPT Co-Founder and COO Heidi Jannenga’s take on what these CMS changes mean for you and your clinic.
First of all, CMS increased the therapy cap by $20 to $1,900 (from $1,880 in 2012) for physical therapy and speech therapy combined and $1,900 for occupational therapy. While this may not seem huge, it’s better than the cuts they once considered imposing. With this ruling, the automatic exemption process will also no longer be in effect after December 31, 2012. That means you will need to appeal based on medical necessity for continued treatment over the cap amount; it won’t be as simple as adding the KX modifier to your billing and supporting it with documentation anymore. Additionally, CMS’s ruling includes a 26.5% reduction to medicare payment rates for physicians, physical therapists, and other professionals. However, if Congress acts by the end of the year (as I think they will), we won’t experience this cut, and they will most likely outline some sort of exception process. Ultimately, we’ll know the outcome for both of these issues as soon as congress comes back into session at the beginning of the new year.APTA, CMS, compliance, fee schedule, G code, medicare, policy, PQRS, therapy cap -
Nov 5, 2012| Charlotte Bohnett
Today's blog post comes from WebPT Senior Copywriters Erica Cohen and Charlotte Bohnett.
We hope this post finds our friends, Members, and colleagues on the East Coast safe and warm; however, we know many of you are still recovering from the devastating effects of Superstorm Sandy. For that reason, we wanted to take a moment to share some valuable resources for you and your loved ones.
Image from American Red Cross and NBCUniversal "Hurricane Sandy: Coming Together" telethon.Assistance
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Affected individuals and businesses in eligible counties in Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York can apply for disaster assistance through FEMA. Additionally, you can search for open shelters by texting: SHELTER and your zip code to 43362 (4FEMA).
