Along with all the chaos that accompanies a capstone project, additional pressing issues come to the front lines. Within the past few months, the subject of G-Codes has taken up a majority of time in regard to educating ourselves, clinical and ancillary staff, as well as a busy IT department. In preparation for a mandatory July 1 compliance date, ...

I was working with an elderly female on transfer safety. After about 20 minutes, she understood the sequencing involved in standing up from a wheelchair. This was important -- she had fallen multiple times because she had forgotten to lock the brakes on the chair. I was satisfied that she was safe and we proceeded with other aspects of mobility. ...

In past posts, I've expressed frustration at volunteering for various opportunities within the APTA and the Neurology Section. A few months ago, I was nominated for a position on the nominating committee for the stroke special interest group. The results arrived today. I wasn't elected. I wasn't surprised. One of the questions nominees were asked ...

I was at the grocery store a few days ago. There was one cashier and a long line of people. One person told the cashier what she already knew, ''There's a line going out the door.'' I stood silent waiting my turn. The guy behind me seemed impatient and was making grunting noises while holding a case of beer. Clearly he had somewhere important to ...

Last week in his post, fellow ADVANCE blogger Dean Metz shared some good news. CMS has ruled the need for skilled intervention, not functional improvement, makes therapy reimbursable. This means, as he pointed out, patients with chronic conditions can receive treatment without first experiencing an exacerbation. This will undoubtedly result in an ...

A report from the Commonwealth Fund was just highlighted in the press. It's a remarkable comparison of healthcare costs between developed nations. It shouldn't be surprising that the United States spent more on health care per capita than any other developed country. Unfortunately all that spending is not resulting in superior quality of ...

My mom has struggled with back pain for more than a year. I didn't know about it until it had been bothering her for a few months; right about the time that she started going to physical therapy. Unfortunately (or fortunately, however you look at it), my mom lives about two hours away from me, so I'm not able to provide much treatment for her ...

A very important ruling came out February in the Jimmo vs. Sebelius argument. It clarified that improvement of function is not a requirement for Medicare reimbursement. Rather it's the need for skilled services that determines whether a claim is reimbursable. If a skilled service is required to maintain function or prevent decline, then according ...

With experience comes responsibility. It's a simple concept, but I never fully appreciated it until recently when I was involved in the discharge decision-making process for patients I've been working with. As I'm sure any physical therapist working in inpatient rehab knows, we have weekly staff meetings to determine goals, establish discharge ...

From the moment we set foot in a facility, we're on the move. We're expected to be productive throughout our day by billing patients for our services. We make it rain for the facility but aren't always recognized for it. When I see every other department in a healthcare setting, they usually take up space and use resources that cost the facility ...