Dizziness Depot

We have a guest blogger this week. Jim Baer, Au.D. is a former student of mine, now a faculty member at Lamar University. Jim teaches vestibular assessment and management courses, which gives him a unique perspective on up and coming audiologist’s interests and abilities. Here is his take on the subject:  How much training in vestibular assessment do students really

Several weeks ago, I posted a blog on this site discussing Medicare’s definition of Computerized Dynamic Posturography (CDP), which is described by the AMA CPT code 92548. I will paste a portion of that post below. In the interim, I worked with the American Academy of Audiology to write to Palmetto GBA (a regional Medicare administrator), basically appealing the decision

A well trained front office staff is critical for any type of medical or allied health practice.  Since vestibular clinics are far and few between, we often get phones calls from patients or potential patients inquiring about what we do exactly.  The following is a short phone script I have prepared for my front office staff.  This helps in two

  Last week, we discussed a recent study that found an association between the use of SSRI’s and an increased risk of falling in patients with dementia. Since SSRI’s are used for depression, let’s look at the connection between depression, dementia and falling. Depression may increase the risk of falling due to sleep disturbances resulting in daytime drowsiness, and nocturia

Hopefully, I have provided some insight as to why there are so few vestibular specialty clinics. Let’s move on to some suggestions for improving the situation. First, from the patient’s perspective, the days of leaving all your health care decisions to your family doctor probably are, and probably should be, over. You need to do a little research on your

  Last week, we reviewed some of the drastic reductions in reimbursement for the most sensitive vestibular tests, and pointed out an example of the medical community deciding it could no longer afford to invest in expensive diagnostic equipment, such as a rotational chair. There has to be a breaking point somewhere. Some physicians will simply stop seeing “dizzy” patients.

  Simple answer, MEDICARE. Keep in mind that the vast majority of patients complaining of dizziness and imbalance are over 65, therefore, Medicare beneficiaries. Medicare has been slashing reimbursement for the most useful vestibular tests. A few years ago, there was some large scale fraud related to vestibular testing in California. California’s response was to clarify coverage policy to minimize

Last week we discussed that many patients and physicians are unaware of the capabilities of vestibular diagnostic testing and management. This week, we look at some economic issues that diminish access to vestibular specialists. Economics: Why do people with dizziness get full neurologic workups (usually including CT or MRI scans of the brain), and why are there so few specialists

Last week we began the discussion about why there are so few vestibular specialists, and I wrote that I thought it had to do with lack of awareness, and economics. This week, we discuss lack of awareness, next week we discuss economics. Lack of awareness: As an example, the most common cause of episodic vertigo is the result of a

  As I have mentioned in earlier blogs, I practice in a rural area in southern West Virginia. We operate a comprehensive balance clinic offering Rotational Chair, Active Head Rotation, Platform Posturography as well as standard Videonystagmography. The funny thing is, many local referring physicians and patients have no idea that this is unusual. I suspect they may think there