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Issue Focus: Telepractice
Treatment Tips | Breaking News | What's New on ASHA.org | Featured Question
For Your Professional Development | Shop ASHA | Announcements
Welcome to Access SLP Health Care, ASHA's bimonthly e-newsletter that addresses the specific needs of speech-language pathologists (SLPs) working in health care. If you have not already subscribed, send a blank e-mail with the word "subscribe" in the subject line to: Access-SLPhealthcare-request@lists.asha.org. If you know colleagues who might enjoy this newsletter, please forward this e-mail.
Join the Access SLP Health Care Community!
Share Your Treatment Tips
Tell us what is working for you and improving the services you provide. Do you use an old tool in a new way? Have you streamlined your documentation? Are you able to manage cancellations and no-shows in your facility? Share what works for you with your colleagues!
Treatment Tip Submission Form
This month's tip comes from Becky Bolzer, M.A., CCC-SLP of Spearfish Regional Hospital in Spearfish, SD.
I use Sudoku puzzles with my patients for deductive reasoning and problem-solving. Often it helps to give the left side of their brains a break from language, and utilizes the right side by using the numbers! Plus, I'm now totally addicted to Sudoku and so is my whole department!
Breaking News!
May is Better Hearing and Speech Month
Resources and information are available about how to promote BHSM.
Now Available! Traumatic Brain Injury Resource
This resource includes information on blast injuries and reimbursement issues.
Cultural Competence Corner
Need help improving your cultural competence? Find links to other sites with resources about accents, dialects, other languages, and international issues.
Independent Provider Status for SLPs [PDF]
Congress will consider Medicare legislation again this year. Contact your senators and representatives to support the inclusion of supplier status for SLPs. Take action now!
New! Revised Issues in Ethics Statements
Read the new documents on Accepting Referrals for Private Practice From Primary Place of Employment and Ethics in Research and Scholarly Activity recently approved by the Board of Directors.
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SLPs frequently are confronted with new treatment programs and procedures. ASHA does not endorse specific programs or products and therefore does not have a position or policy about their use. These questions were developed to assist in the decision-making process before using a treatment procedure, purchasing a product, or attending an educational program.
Featured Question - Telepractice
Can an SLP provide services to patients via telepractice?
Telepractice—also known as telehealth, telerehab, or telemedicine—is "the application of telecommunications technology to delivery of professional services at a distance by linking clinician to client, or clinician to clinician, for assessment, intervention, and/or consultation" (ASHA, 2005). ASHA's position is that telepractice is an appropriate model of service delivery provided that the quality of services delivered is consistent with the quality of services delivered face-to-face.
The use of telepractice as a service delivery model for SLPs is growing. Although some limitations exist, including payer restrictions (for example, Medicare does not yet pay for speech services delivered remotely) and licensure issues, the use of telepractice is becoming more widely accepted in health care. Some larger payers, including Aetna and Cigna, have started reimbursing for physician services delivered remotely. As this trend continues, more and more services, including speech-language pathology, will be included in coverage policies.
Efforts are underway on many fronts and from many organizations, including ASHA, to implement policies and regulations that allow for the provision of telepractice services. More information, including ASHA's policy documents, is available on ASHA's Web site. The site includes a video showing examples of how some telespeech services are being provided and researched.
Additional Resources
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For Your Professional Development
Find a course that's right for you.
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Announcements
ASHA Elections Start June 1
Don't forget to cast your vote for Board of Directors and Advisory Council positions! Remind your friends and colleagues to vote too. Member participation in the election process helps ensure that Association policies and programs reflect the interests and needs of ASHA members like you! To learn more about the candidates or to read more about the voting process, visit the ASHA National Elections Web site. All ballots must be received by noon, EDT, June 30, 2008. For assistance, e-mail ashahelp@electionservicescorp.com or call 1-866-720-HELP (4357).
ASHA's Board of Directors Wants to Hear From You!
Use the "In Touch" form to share your professional issues, concerns, or congratulations! And thanks for being in touch!
ASHA Members May Now Submit Resolutions Using an Online Form
Be sure to read Resolutions Process and Principles for Preparation of Resolutions before you get started to make sure a resolution is your most appropriate course of action!
CAA Call for Nominations – June 1 Deadline
The Nominating Committee for the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology (CAA) is soliciting nominations to fill six vacancies on the CAA. Three of these vacancies are Academic Positions in Speech-Language Pathology, and one vacancy is a Practitioner Position in Speech-Language Pathology. If one of your professional goals is to ensure the availability of quality academic programs, you may be just the person for whom the committee is searching. Visit the ASHA Web site to read more about the CAA's activities, review the position descriptions, and obtain an application form.
2008 SPARC and AARC Awards
The competitions for the ASHA Awards Students Preparing for Academic & Research Careers (SPARC) and Advancing Academic-Research Careers (AARC) are now open until May 16, 2008. Both awards are components of ASHA's strategic objective to increase the commitment to research. For more information, please visit the ASHA Web site.
Medicare Outpatient Therapy: New Rules and Requirements (Live Web/Telephone Seminar)
Attend this new web/telephone seminar to:
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Learn about updated Medicare requirements for documentation, provider qualifications, certification of plan of care, and other regulatory changes.
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Be able to explain current CMS policies related to physician quality reporting.
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Find out about the legislative progress toward speech-language pathology supplier status (private-practice billing).
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Hear about current CMS data collection efforts in the development of therapy cap alternatives.
The live broadcast takes place on June 11, 2008, from 1-3 p.m. ET. The last day to register for the live broadcast is June 10. Register a group and save.
Want to Meet Your Patients' Needs More Effectively?
ProSearch, ASHA's online directory of audiology and speech-language pathology programs, helps consumers find quality services from thousands of programs that employ ASHA certified SLPs and audiologists. Get Discovered! Sign Up for ProSearch—ASHA's Free Referral Service.
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Watch for the next issue of Access SLP Health Care in July 2008.
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