As the RESNA Board liaison to the Professional Standards Board (PSB), I commend the PSB on a job well done in their implementation of a new, robust Assistive Technology Professional (ATP) Certification exam. RESNA began the credentialing process in 1992, with the first ATP (Practitioner) and ATS (Supplier) exams administered in 1996. Its purpose was…
CMS Electronic Clinical Template: A Work in Progress
On the power mobility device (PMD) Prior Authorization (PA) Demonstration Open Door Forum call March 28, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) surprised the industry when it announced it was developing an electronic clinical medical necessity template. The template “would allow electronic health record vendors to create prompts to assist physicians when documenting…
Funding Essentials: The Reimbursement Side of Crash-Test Standards
Change can be a slow and gradual thing — and it’s often an evolutionary process rather than a bolt from the blue. So it goes, perhaps, with funding for wheelchairs and seating systems used as seating for passengers in motor vehicles. Securing wheelchairs inside motor vehicles isn’t new; neither is having motor vehicle passengers and…
Coverage Criteria: CMS Clarifies PMD “Rules of the Road”
In early May, CMS published a Special Edition (SE1112) Medicare Learning Network (MLN) Matters article titled Power Mobility Device Face-to-Face Examination Checklist for physicians or treating practitioners who prescribe power mobility devices (PMDs) for Medicare beneficiaries. It is both interesting and a bit frustrating that CMS has released this clarification on the “Rules of the…