So, you have something important to say to your members of congress. Excellent! The message you share and the method you use are both key to your success as an advocate. Message and method make all the difference between being heard-heard…and being sorted by an algorithm into a pile with hundreds of other constituents.
If you provide rehab therapy services, you probably aren’t providing telehealth for your Medicare patients. And why is that? Because you’re not on the list of providers who are allowed to charge for these services.
A panel of CEO’s, CIO’s, venture capital industry analysts and the editorial team at CIOReview names Cedaron Medical as one of the top 10 EMR-EHR solution providers for 2017.
Cedaron’s clients report dramatic rewards after adopting our CONNECT EHR for physical therapy. On average, they see an 84 percent drop in claim denials and a 23 percent reduction in administrative overhead. Therapists spend an average of 12 percent more time with patients because Cedaron CONNECT ensures their documentation is accurate and defensible.
The Combined Sections Meeting is right around the corner and industry professionals from all around the country will gather in San Antonio, Texas. The CSM offers an unparalleled opportunity to check out new products, make new connections and reconnect with colleagues. While the CSM is definitely an exciting time, if you’re like us, you’re just as excited to take in some of San Antonio’s must see attractions. If you don’t know where to start, we here at Cedaron have put together a short list of attractions that are each about a 20 minute walk from the convention center. Check them out below!
1. The Alamo
Just a 15 minute walk from the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, The Alamo tops Cedaron’s list of must see attractions. The Alamo served as a fortress for 187 men as they stood against 3,000 soldiers from the Mexican Army in an 1836 battle for Texan independence. After nearly two weeks of fighting, all 187 men fell, including historic figures Davey Crockett and Jim Bowie. The site was later declared a national monument and is remembered as a symbol of the fight for independence. According to thealamo.org, the national monument receives 2.5 million visitors each year.
2. The River Walk
The River walk runs right through the heart of the CSM. Follow it on foot for just 15 minutes and you’ll arrive at the center of the San Antonio River Walk. . The River Walk consists of more than 15 miles of sidewalks and paths that offer easy access to museums, hotels, and historic districts. Immediately recognized by the iconic colorful canopies, the heart of the River Walk is peppered with many shops and popular restaurants ranging from Italian to southern barbecue. Visitsanantonio.com touts the River Walk as the “largest urban ecosystem in the nation”.
3. The Tower of the Americas
The Tower of the Americas is a 750 foot tower located right outside of the CSM convention center. For those who aren’t afraid to look down, the tower offers an observation deck and revolving restaurant granting you access to the most exclusive views of San Antonio. You’ll be able to enjoy the spectacle of the tower right from the convention, but if you’d like to get up close and personal, the tower is just a short 10 minute walk from the convention center. While walking, you can wind right by the Mexican Cultural Institute and take in two sights on the same trip!
4. The San Fernando Cathedral
The beautiful San Fernando Cathedral is about a 20 minute walk from the CSM convention center and is rich with history. The Cathedral was built in San Antonio in 1731, predating the American war for independence by nearly 50 years. In 1836, the Cathedral was within eyesight of the men entrenched at the Alamo during the 13 day siege that eventually cost them all their lives. The ashes of the men who fought at the Alamo are said to have been placed in a small coffin at the San Fernando Cathedral. For historic figure Jim Bowie, the Cathedral was both the place he was wed and laid to rest.
5. The Majestic Theater
The Majestic Theater is a 20 minute walk from the CSM convention center. You can take the River Walk almost all the way there and swing by the Hard Rock Café as a bonus! The Majestic Theater is much younger than most sights you’ll find in San Antonio, having been built in 1929. Despite its young age, the theater’s importance as a beacon for the performing arts earned it a classification as a National Historic Landmark. The theater is known for its ornate Mediterranean style interior design and is currently home to the Broadway in San Antonio.
CSM is going to be a blast this year, and its central location makes checking out all of these sites a no brainer. Make sure to leave a comment and tell us how you’re planning to make the most out of this year’s meeting!
Just four new codes…seems easy, right? The truth is, this new evaluation code law for 2017 has a little more going on just below the surface. The standards of an evaluation will remain the same. The real curve-ball here is the newly added system to classify complexity. Physical therapists have four components to consider, and each level of complexity has criteria for elements from each. (Are you a Physical Therapist? Click here) Here’s a quick breakdown:
Just four new codes…seems easy, right? The truth is, this new evaluation code law for 2017 has a little more going on just below the surface. The standards of an evaluation will remain the same. The real curve-ball here is the newly added system to classify complexity. Physical therapists have four components to consider, and each level of complexity has criteria for elements from each. (Are you an Occupational Therapist? Click here) Here’s a quick breakdown:
This includes comorbidities, their functioning level prior to what led them to seek care, relevant treatment approaches in the past, and various factors such as medications, work status, social history, and more. The key here is to only consider aspects of the patient’s history that directly impact the plan of care now.
Includes body structure and function, activity limitations, and participation restrictions. The last two might seem a little redundant, but there are subtle differences between them. The ICF defines activity limitations as “difficulties an individual may have in executing activities” and participation restrictions as “problems an individual may experience in involvement in life situations”. Here’s a post for reference on what the ICF is all about. Activities and participation include- but are not limited to- mobility, self-care, domestic life, interpersonal interactions and relationships, and civic life.
The patient is stable and uncomplicated. This is your straightforward athlete with an ankle sprain- their ankle hurt the worst at time of injury, is getting better, and you can expect it to get better over time.
The patient has evolving clinical presentation with changing clinical characteristics. This patient could be someone who began treatment with neck and upper back pain and now also has numbness in the right arm and hand. The symptoms are evolving and definitely have the potential to get worse.
The patient has evolving clinical presentation with unstable and unpredictable characteristics. Take our back pain and hand numbness patient from a moment ago, and throw in orthostatic hypotension. There is a risk every time you have the patient change positions that their blood pressure can bottom out, ergo their blood pressure is unstable and unpredictable
The final piece of the puzzle. This is your judgement as a therapist based on the big picture of the patient regarding their treatment plan. It can be of low, moderate, or high complexity, and the decision must be made using a “standardized patient assessment instrument and/or measurable assessment of functional outcome”.
