Awesome Cushion

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 14:29:01 GMT

When a customer has a potential to develop a pressure wound or has an open wound, dealer automatically say the name ROHO. While the ROHO cushions are good cushions, is it the answer that evry customer needs. I talk alot about how we need to ensure we are evaluating each clients needs and not treat each customer the same as the next. Each person we see is in some way different from the customer you seen yesterday even if they have the same diagnosis.

I have had a number of customers that the ROHO was not the answer. We had to try a ROHO or a Star cushion to prove to the funding source that these cushions would not work. Some people you just can not get fitted properly in these types of cushions. It could be because they are to bony, their pelvic positioning is to severe or their wounds are to severe for these cushions. I would encourage each person viewing this to look at the Aquila cushions manufactured by Aquila Corporation. This is a air cushion that is hooked to a pump and alternates pressure. It can be customized to fit your customers needs, the cycle modes can be programmed to meet your clients needs and boy does it work.

I have a customer that was first on a gel cushion and had breakdown, then they tried putting a wedge under the gell cushion then he was on a ROHO cushion and as a result he had 4 flap surgical procedure to heal these wounds. Let me say that all these things were tried before he was referred to me. After being an a ROHO he had 2 new sking breakdowns that were very large and getting worse. We called Aquila and purchased a cushion and the wounds are healing, he is able to sit up longer in the chair and knows that with this cushion and his current treatment that his wounds will heal and he can live life.

If you would like more information on the Aquila cushion go to www.aquilacorp.com The folks at Aquila are very knowledgeable, easy to work with, understand your customers needs and your funding issues. I give this product an A+.

I want to Thank the folks at Aquila for maunfacturing a cushion that provides true pressure reductions and allows my customers to live their life doing what they want and not froma hospital bed.

Chris

Power Wheelchair Codes

Sat, 23 Feb 2008 04:01:47 GMT

Today the RESNA email system was on fire with therapist and ATS's talking about the down coding of Group 3 chairs to group 2 chairs. Some were saying that they feared this would happen whenthe codes were introduced and saying it ishappening more and more. This is an issue that was created by the manufactures. The reason this has happened is because some manufactures started putting powered seat functions on consumer power bases and now Medicaid's think that these bases will work for every customer. This is one of those times when manufactures shold come together to draw a line in the sand to ensure each product is coded properly to ensure that the end user and dealer don't have to deal with these issues. Sometimes all the competeting between the manufactures gets in the way of business and creates a nightmare.

Pride and Invacare are both guilt of this. Pride is putting powered seat functions on chairs that should be straight consumer power bases and so does Invacare. Invacare is putting powered seat functions on the M51 the same as Pride will put powered seat functions on the Jazzy 600. So why would any insurance company pay for powered seat functions on a group 3 chair when they can get the powered seat functions on a group 2 base and save a bunch of money. The manufactures complain that the funding source is downcoding the chair, dealers are complaining that the funding source is downcoding the chair and the end user is pissed off because they are unable to get the base they really need because the dealer cna't provide the equipment at the amount the funding source is paying. It all seems to be a cycle with no end, the circle keeps going round and round. One manufacture says they had to do it to compete with the other manufactures, the manufacture says they had to do it because of market demand and I have yet to ever talk to an end user that says they demanded that the manufacture do this. If a dealer demanding the manufacture do this they should put down the crack pipe and stop screwing things up for those of us that are providing a quality product and expect to be paid a resonable price for the services we provide.

This is the same thing we faced in Missouri when we tried to get a Consumer Protection Bill passed. The corner drug stores, the shade tree dealers and the consumer power dealers lobbyed to not let the bill get out of committee. They told the law makers how it would hurt there business and they couldn't afford to send employees to training and pay for them to take the RESNA exam and so on. I asked on of thise lobbying against the rehab professionals if he wanted some cheese with all that wine the were laying down. They never talked about how it would protect they consumer, how it would ensure that Medicaid was providing equipment through dealers that are true professionals and would increase outcomes and decrease woundsand save Medicaid money. They just talked about how the protection bill would hurt their business.

Dealers, manufactures and end users need to get together and draw a line in the sand. Therapist need to call the manufactures and tell them to seperate the consumer power bases and the rehab bases. Dealers need to do the same and if they want to claim to support the rehab industry, than help us and stop hurting us. Think about it, if the manufacture would stop selling consumer bases with powered seat functions and draw a better line between group 2 and group 3 products, they would make more, we would make more and the end user would get the equipment they want and need. We as dealers wouldn't be stuck out providing a base and wondering what we are going to get paid.

Wake up, let's stop talking and start acting.

Chris

Chris' Blog: Product Information

Awesome Cushion

Power Wheelchair Codes