pre-show conference

Pre-Conference Schedule
Tuesday, May 11th 8:00 am – 12:00 pm*
*SIGVARIS is all day session.

To register for any of the pre-conferences, click here.

AAHomecare

Documentation – What You Need to Know and What Your Colleagues are Doing
Presented by: Bruce Brothis, President, Allegient Billing
Sponsored by: RemitDATA

Come find out what the requirements are and then network with peers on what the best practices are. This will be based on Medicare requirements, our most demanding payer, however what you learn can help to set up processes and systems for all other payers.

Target Audience: Reimbursement and Billing personnel, small business owners and compliance officers

VGM

Sales Training University
Presented by: Louis Feuer, MA, MSW
Sponsored by: The VGM Group

Louis Feuer’s Sales Training University (STU) is an educational and dynamic half-day seminar designed to equip attendees for the highly competitive industry of HME sales. The program is filled with sales and marketing strategies, business advice, valuable tools to increase your revenues and features Louis’ well known, hi-energy, motivational delivery. You don’t want to miss this outstanding educational event.

Target Audience: Sales and Marketing as well as business owners

Navigating the Turbulent Legislative Environment
Presented by: Mark Higley, Vice President and John Gallagher, Vice President, VGM Group, Inc.

Healthcare reform remains on the horizon. It is on the forefront of every Legislator’s schedule in Washington and on the minds of every provider as well. There is an extensive list of new provisions affecting HME. What effect will it have on your business? Can we still influence Congress? And new rulemaking with the potential to further impinge on the industry remains on the agenda. (“Rulemaking” allows our government agencies to bypass the executive and legislative branches and enact more detailed regulations.) VGM’s Mark Higley and John Gallagher will offer summary, insight, commentary and guidance on a plethora of issues influencing the future of HME.

Target Audience: Business owners, general managers and compliance officers

Pride Mobility Products Corp.

The Science of Mat Evaluations & Wheelchair Prescription
Presented by: Jay Doherty, OTR, ATP, Clinical Education Manager, Pride Mobility Products Corp.

A stable and comfortable position in an appropriate wheelchair used for mobility is critical for comfort, health, productivity, and independence. Individualized seating and positioning systems can enhance breathing capacities, prevent complications of pressure sores, minimize pain and improve overall functional abilities of an individual. A wheelchair evaluation is often a good solution to help sort through the various characteristics of a wheelchair to address an individual’s needs. This course provides attendees with a thorough overview of a wheelchair evaluation process. Attendees will review the steps of an evaluation which include the identification of an individual’s unique abilities, needs, lifestyle and environment. This course will use clinical case studies to provide attendee’s with a hands-on approach to the evaluation process. Based on the evaluation attendee’s will recommend a wheelchair seating system, which may include specialized supportive cushions; backrests; headrests; and/or trunk, arm and leg supports.

Course Level: Basic Seating & Positioning
Target Audience: Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists, DME Providers , ATPs, Seating Specialists, Rehab Professionals involved in the prescription of seating and mobility

Reimbursement Fundamentals for Complex Rehab
Presented by: Dan Fedor, General Manager of Education, Pride Mobility Products Corp.

Medical documentation that justifies accessories is essential for any funding source. Medical necessity must be documented in the patient’s medical record and be available to Medicare upon request. It is important to remember that documentation should focus on the mobility limitations associated with the patient’s condition along with completion of mobility related activities of daily living (MRADLs).

This course will provide attendees with an overview of Medicare’s PMD policy and coverage criteria for complex rehab power mobility devices (including seating options and accessories). In addition, attendees will be provided with clinical guidelines (not an all inclusive list) regarding documentation requirements to successfully obtain the appropriate covered mobility equipment for beneficiaries. Through the use of case studies, attendees will have the opportunity to review several claims and with the instructor’s guidance discuss clinical applications that will assist with justification.

Course Level: Advanced Complex Rehab Reimbursement
Target Audience: Physical therapists, Occupational therapists, Physicians, Nurses, Rehab Clinical Professionals, Reimbursement and Billing specialists, Complex Rehab Providers, ATPs, RTSs

Invacare

Six topics are grouped into three ½ day sessions. Note the three room numbers.
You must select one group when you register. You cannot choose a session in one room and a second session in another room.

Manual Wheelchair Selection and Application (.2 CEU) - Room 104
Presented by: David Killen, Regional Training Specialist, Invacare Corporation

This course will use the manual wheelchair coding system as a framework for providing an overview of the different types of manual wheelchairs available for dependent mobility, independent mobility and positioning. The features, level of adjustability, general options, appropriate clients and clinical justification for each will be discussed. A review of frame materials, frame configuration, basic components, terminology and application will be discussed.

Power Wheelchair Electronics and Strategic Programming (.2 CEU) - Room 104
Presented by: David Killen, Regional Training Specialist, Invacare Corporation

This course will introduce programming options available in current wheelchair electronics, terminology/definitions of all programming parameters and application, and how to design an efficient system for the user. The differences between expandable and non-expandable electronics will be defined as well as proportional vs. digital input devices.

What’s The Latest In Rehab Reimbursement (.2 CEU) - Room 105
Presented by: Jim Stephenson, CMC, Coding and Reimbursement Manager, Invacare Corporation

This course is appropriate for anyone who participates in ordering, documenting, delivering or billing for rehab equipment. With the many changes that have been implemented over the last couple years it is important to know and understand what is required to get reimbursed for mobility equipment. Current hot topics are also discussed in this course.

To Bill or Not To Bill? A Guide to Billing Wheelchair Accessories (.2 CEU) - Room 105
Presented by: Jim Stephenson, CMC, Coding and Reimbursement Manager, Invacare Corporation

This session will explore which options/accessories can be billed in addition to the manual and power wheelchair base at initial purchase. Appropriate coding and justification for billable options/accessories will be presented.

Non-Delivery Oxygen Technology: Good for Your Business, Good for Your Patients (1CRCE) - Room 106
Presented by: Robert Messenger, RRT, Clinical Education Specialist, Invacare Corporation

As oxygen reimbursement continues to shrink and business costs steadily rise, the profitability is being squeezed out of oxygen therapy. In an effort to rein in costs, providers need to find ways to continue to provide quality patient care without sacrificing services. Non-delivery oxygen technologies effectively reduce cost while enhancing patient care. This presentation looks at the financial and clinical benefits of non-delivery oxygen systems. The various systems will be reviewed and recommendations for their use will be discussed.

Current Issues in Home Respiratory Care (1 CRCE) - Room 106
Presented by: Robert Messenger, RRT, Clinical Education Specialist, Invacare Corporation

This presentation looks at the growth of the home oxygen, sleep and aerosol patient base and reviews current technology used to treat these patients at home. Controversies and recent changes in reimbursement are described and the impact of reduced payment on the professional clinical component is discussed.

Philips Respironics

Home Respiratory and Sleep Therapy Series
This session includes all four topics in the series

Matching Patients to Portable Home Oxygen Equipment
Approved by AARC and ASNS, 1 Hour
Speaker: Kimberly Snyder, US Marketing Manager, Philips Respironics

This workshop is aimed at increasing the knowledge of practitioners who work with home oxygen patients who require portable oxygen equipment. The session will cover methods of matching portable home oxygen equipment to patient needs. It will also help attendees gain a greater understanding of the clinical and operational differences between various types of portable oxygen equipment. A special focus will be placed on pulse dose technology and its application and role in portable oxygen delivery. Finally, the session will cover the issues faced by patients using portable oxygen equipment when traveling by land, sea and air.

Audience: Professionals providing home oxygen therapy

Non-Invasive Ventilation in the Home
Approved by AARC and ASNA, 1 Hour
Speaker: Staci Brewster, Respiratory Sales Specialist, Philips Respironics

This presentation explores the current trends, clinical criteria, and applications for non-invasive ventilation in chronic respiratory insufficiency. Treatment of chronic respiratory insufficiency with non-invasive ventilation in the home has increased over the past decade, and with the development of nasal ventilation, it has become easier, safer and more economical to provide ventilatory support within the home setting.

Audience: Professionals providing non-invasive ventilation in the home

The ABCs of OSA: An Overview of Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Approved by AARC, AAST, CCMC and ASNA, 1 Hour
Speaker: Maura Weis, Sr. Marketing Manager, Philips Respironics

Upon completion, the participant should be able to: understand pathology and prevalence of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), discuss potential consequences and economic impact of untreated or under-treated OSA, identify risks and co-morbidities associated with OSA, recommend appropriate diagnosis and screening procedures used to identify OSA and discuss various treatment options and long-term management of patients with OSA.

Audience: Medical professionals of every level working in any medical environment; non-medical staff working in a medical environment e.g. physician office, homecare provider, sleep center, hospital

Respiratory Drug Delivery Contemporary Issues
Approved by AARC, 1 Hour
Speaker: Mike West, Clinical Marketing Manager, Philips Respironics

A variety of respiratory drug delivery devices are used to administer an array of inhaled pharmacological agents. Due to the device/drug formulations and manufacturing costs, patients are required to use different devices to self manage a chronic respiratory and/or systemic condition. The purpose of this lecture is to provide an overview of the challenges patients face with existing aerosol devices. The lecture will discuss current respiratory drug delivery device challenges (conflicting techniques, dosing variability, patient training and costs) and will include nebulizers, ultrasonic nebulizers, MDIs, and dry powder inhalers

Audience: Medical professionals who interface with patients requiring the use of respiratory drug devices.

SIGVARIS

Venous Disease and Compression Therapy
Presented by: Judith Brannan, Education/Medical Affairs Manager, SIGVARIS, Inc.

SIGVARIS is offering a full day workshop for medical retail professionals who wish to learn more about medical conditions that are treated with compression therapy. SIGVARIS one-day fitter seminars are designed to provide the fitter of medical compression stockings with the needed medical knowledge to safely measure, fit and select the appropriate product for patients with veno-lymphatic disorders. ABC & BOC CEU's are also available.

Target Audience: Beginner and advanced compression therapy fitters. The course also awards ABC/BOC CEUs to those who successfully complete the session.

Venous Disease and Compression Therapy

To register for any of the pre-conferences, click here.

The pre-conference rate includes access to all of the Medtrade Spring Conference sessions and the expo show floor except to SIGVARIS. The SIGVARIS session include access to the show floor only.