Home Oxygen Therapy Equipment

Donnie Springer, RRT with ProTech Medical explains the most common equipment prescribed for persons needing home oxygen therapy.

The video demonstrates a traditional compressed gas system with a concentrator, portable tank, regulator, and supplies.

ProTech Medical has provided home medical equipment to respiratory customers in Middle Tennessee since 1983. For more information, visit our website - www.protechdelivers.com

ProTech Medical provides home oxygen equipment by accepting most insurance plans including Medicare, BC/BS, HealthSpring, Humana, United Healthcare, and more.

If you suffer from chronic breathing problems as a result of COPD or Emphysema, talk to your physician about a simple overnight test to measure your oxygen saturation level.

ProTech Medical serves home oxygen therapy customers in Nashville, Murfreesboro, Franklin, Columbia, Shelbyville, Lewisburg, Chapel Hill, Lynchburg, Pulaski, Lawrenceburg, Hohenwald, Centerville, and hundreds of small communities throughout Middle Tennessee.

Pro-Tech Medical Provides CPAP Therapy For Improved Health

Most people are aware of the benefits that CPAP treatment can provide for people with sleep apnea: a better night’s sleep, more alertness and energy during the day, and an overall improvement in the quality of life. But did you know that CPAP treatment can also improve comorbidities of sleep apnea, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke and obesity? The following information describes the relationship between sleep apnea and these comorbidities, and highlights the importance of treatment in gaining the full benefits of CPAP therapy.

Sleep Apnea and Diabetes

The link between sleep apnea and diabetes has been referenced in a growing number of clinical articles. Sleep apnea is very common in patients who suffer from diabetes, and people with sleep apnea have higher chances of developing insulin resistance, which can lead to type 2 diabetes.

Diabetes patients who receive treatment for their sleep apnea often have an immediate improvement in their diabetic condition. If you have diabetes and think you might have sleep apnea, talk to your doctor and find out right away. Treating sleep apnea might help you control your blood sugar levels and may lower your chances of complications, like heart disease.

High blood pressure

The National Institutes of Health lists sleep apnea as a cause of high blood pressure. Studies show that about 30% of all people with high blood pressure have sleep apnea. That number increases to 80% for people taking three or more medications to control their blood pressure. If you have high blood pressure and sleep apnea, starting treatment may help you lower your levels significantly and improve your heart health.

Heart Disease

Untreated sleep apnea strains the heart and may cause it not to work properly. Left untreated, sleep apnea can lead to heart disease and heart failure. People with sleep apnea can lower their chances of developing these problems by getting treated. Sleep apnea treatment can people help control their blood pressure and improve their heart health.

Stroke

Sleep apnea can increase a person's chances of stroke. In fact, studies show that more than 60% of patients who have had a stroke also have sleep apnea. Stroke patients with untreated sleep apnea may have a harder time recovering after a stroke than others do. Recovering from a stroke takes much energy and motivation, but the sleepiness that comes from sleep apnea can make it difficult for a person to follow rehabilitation programs, causing poor recovery. Stroke patients with untreated sleep apnea have higher chances of death than patients who receive treatment.

Obesity

About 40% of obese people have sleep apnea. Overweight people should be particularly concerned because sleep apnea may make weight loss more difficult. The sleepiness that comes from sleep apnea may cause people to overeat, sleep more, and exercise less. Some people, as a matter of habit, will eat to "wake up" when they feel drowsy during the day. That in turn can cause them to gain more weight, which may make their sleep apnea even worse. Being treated for sleep apnea can help obese people gain the energy to exercise more and lose weight.

As you can see, CPAP therapy can do more than help you sleep well and go far beyond treating your sleep apnea if you have comorbidities such as those described above. If you remain compliant with your treatment, you are more likely to enjoy the health benefits that CPAP therapy has to offer.

For more information or to see how CPAP therapy can help you, call us today - 1-800-722-7313. Let our Respiratory Staff help you improve your life.

www.protechdelivers.com

Explaining Medicare Requirements for Power Chairs/Scooters

A power wheelchair (K0010-K0014) is covered by Medicare when a patient's condition is such that without the use of a wheelchair the patient would be otherwise bed or chair confined. Additionally, the patient is unable to operate a manual wheelchair due to a severe neurologic or muscular condition of both arms and legs.

Examples of severe neurologic conditions might include spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy, advanced multiple sclerosis, or stroke with dense hemiplegia. In addition to the diagnosis of such a condition, there must also be functional impairment involving paralysis or such severe weakness of arms as well as legs that the patient is unable to propel a manual wheelchair within the confines of their home or individual living quarters.

The DMERC has received many claims with documentation of the need for power wheelchairs including statements signed by physicians, indicating a degree of functional impairment and use within the home or living quarters, which has not been corroborated when further investigated. In an effort to better determine the medical necessity for power wheelchairs (K0010-K0014), Region C DMERC may require information in addition to a CMN, which is normally submitted with the claim.

Suppliers may be notified of the need for this extra documentation before a claim for a power wheelchair is adjudicated for payment. The extra documentation requested will include the following elements:

The manufacturer and model/number of the power wheelchair ordered, delivered and used by the patient, which must be the same item for which the claim is being submitted.
Copies of the Progress Notes from the medical chart of the treating physician who is ordering the power wheelchair. These notes must be relevant to the diagnoses listed on the CMN, and address functional levels justifying the need for the power wheelchair (according to the DMERC RMRP). One entry in the Progress Notes should certainly refer to the ordering of the power wheelchair along with reasons for its need, considering the severity of the conditions for which power wheelchairs are required. It is also expected that several Progress Notes (with different dates of entry) will be present within the treating physician's medical chart, referring to the condition and associated limitations of function, and these notes are to be included as well. If hospital records such as a discharge summary adequately address a qualifying condition and functional level at the time of discharge justifying need for a power wheelchair in the home, these will also be helpful.

Physicians who express concerns about patient confidentiality may be reassured that when the patient signs the HCFA-1500 claim form which is submitted for the power wheelchair, the patient grants the Medicare Carrier (the DMERC) authority to secure medical records in order to establish the medical necessity of equipment for which Medicare is being billed. Since only Progress Notes pertaining to the relevance of the need for the power wheelchair are required, this information should not be considered beyond the professional scope of the supplier, who must properly equip and fit the beneficiary with this item (as well as assess the particular home environment in which it is to be used). Failure to provide adequate and relevant copies of the treating physician's Progress Notes from the physician's medical chart of the patient will be considered lack of adequate medical necessity documentation, and claims for K0010-K0014 will be denied as medically unnecessary.

If the Progress Note entries of the treating physician do not address the following details of a thorough functional assessment of the patient, it may also be necessary to obtain an evaluation by one of these professionals: 1) a physiatrist (physician specializing in rehabilitation medicine), 2) a physical therapist licensed in the state where the evaluation is being performed, or 3) an occupational therapist certified by the national certifying board and who has met any regulations for licensure, certification, or registration by the state in which the evaluation is performed. From whichever of these professionals, the following details of functional ability should be addressed: condition necessitating use of a power wheelchair; date of onset of this condition; progression of the condition and prognosis; semi-quantitative assessment of strength in the extremities; the presence or absence of increased muscle tone or spasms; trunk stability and sitting posture; quantification of the patient's ability to ambulate and what assistance (e.g., cane, walker, other person, etc.) is needed for this (if applicable); ability to transfer from bed/chair to wheelchair (including the ability to stand and pivot); endurance; cognitive abilities; visual impairments; description of current wheelchair (if applicable), age of equipment, and why it is being replaced.

Suppliers will also be asked to furnish a valid telephone number for the beneficiary, the ordering physician, and the physiatrist, physical therapist or occupational therapist who submitted the patient/wheelchair evaluation.

Failure to respond to a request for this extra documentation, or submitting documentation which is not complete in all of the requested details may result in claim denial if medical necessity cannot be established based on the information which is received.

If you are in need of powered mobility, call Rodney McCarthy, ATP today! 1-800-722-7313

www.protechdelivers.com

You can also view power chair videos at www.youtube.com/protechmedical

Jazzy Select Ultra 6 Power Chair With Seat Lift Option, Middle Tennessee

If you need a power chair or scooter, and you live in Middle Tennessee, call Rodney McCarthy, ATP. Toll Free - 1-800-7213

Visit http://protechdelivers.com for more products and info