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Reliable FCE System Gets High Marks from Physical Therapists
Without documented reliability, a test's results have no validity. Deborah Lechner first discovered the truth in this statement while doing a research project with colleagues at UAB, a project that required a valid functional capacity evaluation (FCE) protocol. "After extensive investigation and review, we found that none of the commercially available FCE systems met our criteria for a well-designed and validated test," said Lechner, president and founder of ErgoScience™, Inc.
BY ANN B. DEBELLIS |
Mending Broken Bones
While controversy continues to rage around embryonic stem cell research, biotech medical products using stem cells from adult donors are racing forward. One area in particular where this technology appears to be meeting with growing interest and success is orthopaedic surgery.
BY JO LYNN CURRY |
Physician Spotlight: Dr. Tracy Ray
Tracy Ray is watchful as he stands on the sidelines — arms across his chest, hands thrust in his pockets. He's wary of each move, every tumble, each tackle made by or to a Samford Bulldog. He'll be one of the first on the field when a Bulldog is slow to get up from the turf.
BY ZELDA OLIVER-MILES |
POPTS Battle Continues with Proposed Rule Change
A 2004 ruling by South Carolina's attorney general has rekindled an ongoing debate between private practice physical therapists and physician-owned physical therapy services (POPTS) in Alabama. After years of efforts by the Alabama Board of Physical Therapy to have self-referrals by POPTS declared a "conflict of interest," the board has again proposed an amendment to rule 700-X-3-.02 that would prohibit a physical therapist from accepting a referral from a physician with whom the therapist shares a financial interest.
BY ANN B. DEBELLIS |
STARR Procedure Offers Less Invasive Option for Treating ODS
There's a new surgical solution to a vexing problem that affects millions of women. Some 16 percent of women in the United States suffer from chronic constipation, and patients who don't respond to modifications in diet and exercise, or to laxatives, are frequently diagnosed with a condition known as obstructed defecation syndrome.
BY DALE SHORT |
Physical Therapy Services Provided through Physician Practices
Physical therapy services provided through physician practices offer significant additional income opportunities for physicians. But based on strict Medicare billing rules, federal and state laws, physician practices must carefully consider how to structure PT services delivered through their practices.
Daniel Murphy |
The 2007 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule
The proposed 2007 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (Fee Schedule), published Aug. 22, 2006, would make a number of significant changes to physician payment rates, the Medicare reassignment rules, the physician self-referral prohibition (Stark Law) and rules impacting diagnostic imaging providers. Following the end of a comment period, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will issue a final Fee Schedule in November or December, 2006, to be effective Jan. 1, 2007. Following are "highlights" from the Fee Schedule.
Howard E. Bogard |
Physical and Occupational Therapists Unite to Protect Patients
The American population is living longer thanks to the advent of modern technology and greater health advances. Surviving conditions that years ago would have caused an earlier demise, the aging population requires medical visits and rehabilitation services for issues such as stroke, diabetes and Parkinson's disease.
BY HOLLI W. HAYNIE |
Older Driver Safety
The U. S. Census Bureau projects that the number of Americans age 65 and older will grow from 35 million today to more than 62 million by 2025, nearly an 80 percent increase.
In addition, the National Institute on Aging (NIA) projects the number of people age 85 and older, currently the fastest growing segment of the older population, could exceed 10 million.
BY HOLLI W. HAYNIE |
Strategic Planning — a Crucial Business Tool
Strategic planning is a business tool that management uses to progress — to do better at what you do best. The planning process allows management to determine if the business is working toward common goals and responding to an ever-changing environment.
Gerard J. Kassouf |
Scientists Developing Simple Skin Test for Alzheimer's
Researchers at the Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute in West Virginia say they've identified a biomarker for Alzheimer's that may allow for an early diagnosis of the debilitating disease with a brief, painless skin test.
Alzheimer's is a notoriously difficult disease to diagnose. Standard methods today involve a battery of imperfect psychiatric evaluations or postmortems that are of no help to the living.
BY JOHN CARROLL |
QIOs Mount Aggressive Campaign to Expand Their Authority
Back in the spring, dozens of Quality Improvement Organizations were put on the defensive with a blistering critique of their performance from the Institute of Medicine.
Too many of the nation's 53 QIOs — federal contractors charged with improving the quality of Medicare services — were dominated by boards controlled by physicians who were unable to handle complaints fairly or who were unwilling to educate the public that they even had a place to hear those complaints, said the prestigious healthcare group.
BY JOHN CARROLL |
X STOP Gives LSS Patients a New Start
For some patients suffering from lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS), standing upright and walking just a few feet can be excruciating. In many of the worst cases, the only way to get any true relief is by sitting or leaning over. Unfortunately, adopting these sedentary poses can often lead to a host of other health problems as the patient's weight balloons.
BY CINDY SANDERS |
Partial Knee Replacements
UAB orthopedic surgeon K. David Moore, MD, believes the partial knee replacement system UAB is using for osteoarthritis patients will provide the longevity that has been missing from previous components.
"It's a unique design," he says, "and at the moment it's the only model available in the states with this particular construction."
The system is used for patients whose osteoarthritis is limited to one compartment of the knee.
BY JO LYNN CURRY |
Winning the Game
You could say this doctor makes house calls — to spacious dwellings with very large yards. Specifically, football stadiums.
Dr. James R. Andrews, MD, an orthopedic surgeon with Alabama Sports Medicine & Orthopaedic Center, is senior orthopedic consultant for the Washington Redskins, co-medical director for Auburn University's athletic programs, senior orthopedic consultant for the University of Alabama football program, as well as for seven other universities and colleges in Alabama — oh, and one high school.
BY JO LYNN CURRY |
Group Therapy Improves Outcomes in Orthopedics Unit
The Shelby Baptist Medical Center new orthopedics unit takes a different approach to patients' recovery from total hip and knee replacement surgeries. "It's a typical nursing unit, but it has a 10-bed ortho component that incorporates a group therapy style rehab approach," says Evan Ray, director of ortho-neuro services. "So patients have the ability to go through rehabilitation exercises and physical therapy treatments in a group setting."
BY JO LYNN CURRY |
Orthopaedics …The Next Generation
If you don't ask questions, it's hard to find answers.
It may be a simple premise, but it's one that is an underlying force for the Orthopaedic Research Society. An arm of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the ORS numbers around 2,100 members, as compared to 27,000 members in the AAOS.
BY CINDY SANDERS |
Pediatric Imaging Center Provides Convenient, Low-Stress Diagnostics
As the state's only pediatric hospital, the 275-bed Children's Hospital of Alabama averaged over 13,000 admissions and 620,000 outpatient visits last year. Nearly 50,000 children were seen in the emergency department. Add in another quarter-million visits to the ambulatory care center and the strain on the hospital's radiology facilities is clearly evident.
BY KATHY CAMPBELL BOWERS |
IRS Putting Nonprofit Hospitals Under the Microscope
The IRS has lately been asking hundreds of nonprofit hospitals some tough questions.
Over the summer, more than 500 nonprofit hospitals received questionnaires that delved deep into their operations and executive compensation.
BY TRACY STATON |
Physical Therapy Profession Develops 'Vision 2020'
The American Physical Therapy Association has developed a vision statement for the physical therapy profession. Known as Vision 2020, the statement projects an ideal for the future of the physical therapy business.
BY ANN B. DEBELLIS |
New MGMA Officers
After hosting a successful summer conference in Destin, MGMA Alabama, the second largest MGMA chapter in the United States with over 700 members, recently elected officers for the coming year.
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OCERIS Promotes Price to V.P. of Sales
OCERIS, Inc. has promoted Matt Price to Vice President of Sales. Based in Huntsville, OCERIS is the developer of FlexMedical, a practice management software program that incorporates modules for electronic medical records, billing, and patient scheduling and workflow.
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Encore Rehabilitation Opens Hoover Clinic
Encore Rehabilitation of Hoover began operations in a new clinic recently. Located at 2801 John Hawkins Parkway (Hwy 150), it specializes in orthopedic rehabilitation and sports medicine. Clinical Director Steve Milliron, PT, ATC brings with him over 14 years rehab experience in the Birmingham area.
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