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In revised guidelines issued on March 30, 2006, for the use of flexible or rigid endoscopy by speech-language pathologists, the Maryland State Board for Audiologists, Hearing Aid Dispensers and Speech-Language Pathologists clarified that "[s]peech-language pathologists should be able to access a physician when utilizing endoscopy in their practice." A speech-language pathologist should be able to quickly consult a physician in the event there is an emergency during or after the endoscopic procedure, but the physician need not be in the room or building while the procedure is performed.
The decision was based, in part, on an ASHA document provided to the Board that examines the safety of almost 52,000 consecutive FEES and FEESST procedures performed by SLPs between 1992 and 2005. The Board left unchanged the other five previously adopted guidelines for SLPs to consider when using endoscopy. For further information, please contact Mark Kander, ASHA's Director of Healthcare Regulatory Analysis, via e-mail at mkander@asha.org or by phone at 800-498-2071, ext. 4139.
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