Empowered SLPs in Health Care: Breaking Barriers and Shaping Solutions
June 2–14, 2021 | Online Conference
These pre-recorded lectures are on-demand and last about an hour, so you can listen to them whenever time permits!
The sessions in this conference fall under five major themes: the business of health care; reimbursement and advocacy; adapting your practice to future trends; disparities in health care access; and career challenges and growth.
Reconciling Patient-Driven Care Within the Business of Health Care
Carmen Vega-Barachowitz, MS, CCC-SLP
The business aspects of health care delivery and resultant SLP experiences, such as increased productivity requirements and disparities in patient access, may feel unfair. The paradoxical experience of providing patient-centered care and maximizing patient outcomes while wrestling with workload demands and economic pressures can affect SLPs’ independent clinical judgement, contributions to patient care, and value added. In this opening session, the presenter will share ways to design your own professional pathway to confront the challenges and feel empowered to influence change. The session will also orient you to the full conference contents and equip you with learning strategies and a framework for maximizing your conference experience.
After completing this session, you will be able to:
The Interrelationship Between Policy and Clinical Practice
Jeffrey P. Regan, MA
This session will explore how policy and clinical practice impact each other. The presenter will discuss the making of public policy, and how it is interpreted and implemented into clinical practice in health care settings. The presenter will also discuss the flip side—how clinical practice itself informs advocacy for shaping future public policy. Participants will be able to think about their professional roles in interpreting policy and advocating for change.
After completing this session, you will be able to:
The Political and Public Policy Landscape and the Future of Medical Speech-Language Pathology
Jeffrey P. Regan, MA
This session will provide an overview of the 2021 political and public policy landscape, including issues of importance before the presidential administration, Congress, and the states. The presenter will discuss the impact these issues have on the future of the medical SLP and highlight the advocacy efforts ASHA is currently undertaking, empowering participants to advocate for positive change.
After completing this session, you will be able to:
Navigating Medicare in the Era of COVID-19
Sarah Warren, MA, and Jerry White, BA
This session will describe the two issues dominating Medicare coverage discussions in 2021—payment reductions to pay for E/M (evaluation and management) increases and the use of telehealth during and after the public health emergency. Navigating the challenges of these two policy issues is critical to ensuring the viability of SLPs in a variety of health care settings. The presenters will discuss the current status of payment reductions and telehealth use, ASHA’s advocacy strategy, and how to operationalize strategies to effectively maintain Medicare beneficiaries’ access to speech-language pathology services.
After completing this session, you will be able to:
Medicaid Federal Update: Policy Meets Practice
Tim Nanof, MSW, and Jerry White, BA
This session will explore the basics of the Medicaid program, highlight federal and state roles, and outline expected changes and updates over the next couple of years. Presenters will provide up-to-date information about “hot topics”—including telepractice, new requirements, and state-specific information—for clinicians who serve Medicaid beneficiaries in health care settings.
After completing this session, you will be able to:
Latest Updates: Health Care SLP Coding and Payment for 2021 and Beyond
Neela Swanson, BA
This session will provide the latest updates on procedure and diagnosis coding for health care SLP services and how the COVID-19 pandemic continues to influence payment policy. The speaker will discuss the current state of telepractice coverage as well as best practice for coding virtual assessments and COVID-19-related cases.
After completing this session, you will be able to:
Eeny Meeny Miny Moe, To Whom Should I Listen and Where Should I Go? Developing Critical Thinking Skills
Ed M. Bice, MEd, CCC-SLP
The amount of information available to clinicians is enormous. Type a few terms into Google, and thousands of options appear; post a question on social media, and a plethora of responses emerge. Obtaining information is not an issue, but how do you wade through when there is no consensus? Using examples SLPs encounter in their work in health care settings, this session will explore tools for evaluating and analyzing information and developing critical thinking skills.
After completing this session, you will be able to:
Technology Access and Telepractice: Who Gets Left Behind?
Kristen Weidner, MS, CCC-SLP, and Joneen Lowman, PhD, CCC-SLP
This session will describe health disparities relevant to telehealth access in older adults and individuals who live in rural areas. Presenters will highlight resources to help overcome telehealth access barriers with these populations and discuss the clinician’s role in advocacy.
After completing this session, you will be able to:
Ensuring Language Access in Health Care Settings
Joshuaa D. Allison-Burbank, PhD, CPH, CCC-SLP
An increasingly diverse United States means that clinicians are encountering more languages in hospital settings. SLPs and audiologists have a legal and ethical responsibility to ensure language access – that is, to active bridge communication challenges between clinicians and patients/families who do not speak, understand, read, or write in the same language. This session will discuss language access law and solutions for situations in which a trained medical interpreter is unavailable.
After completing this session, you will be able to:
Moral Distress and the SLP’s Game: Put Burnout on the Run
Josephine Sevier Alston, MA, CCC-SLP
Many SLPs in health care settings feel as though they are slowly losing “the game” and experiencing career burnout. This session will explore moral distress and how it can impact the SLP’s long game. The speaker will address difficult situations that SLPs confront daily in their health care careers and share useful tools to get to the root of your moral distress. The session will help you develop a new game plan with strategies to come out with a win.
After completing this session, you will be able to:
Uncovering Your Superpowers
Alexis Redmond, JD, MA, CAE
At some stages in your career, you may ask yourself, “Do I want to be doing this?” This question can start you down a path of personal discovery to find fulfillment in your career. In this session, learn how to identify and communicate your unique transferable skills and talents—i.e., superpowers—to find new opportunities, expand your influence at work, and/or grow your professional brand.
After completing this session, you will be able to:
Additional sessions will be added on the following topics: rehabilitation services in health care; the costs of staying in business; telepractice in the future; ethics in social media engagement; and challenging racial biases in service delivery. Check back for full session descriptions.
"I learned a lot of new information that I can incorporate into my practice. I really valued all the research-based information."
"I loved how there were different perspectives on the same subject. I liked the tips and practical treatment strategies that were provided."