Summer 2014

Upcoming Events: Kentucky Student

Conclave Students can now register online for KPTA’s

first Kentucky Student Conclave, being held September 12-

13 in Louisville. Students—be sure you are logged in to the

KPTA website in order to receive the member rate. Click

here to see the official conference brochure.

The event will bring all eight PT & PTA programs together

under one roof for fun, education and leadership develop-

ment.

The event will kick-off with an opening reception at

7:00p.m. on September 12 at the Crowne Plaza Louisville

that includes an exhibit hall and student awards ceremony.

The highlight of the evening will be the presentation of the

first-annual “David A. Pariser Exceptional Educator” award.

The award will be given to an outstanding PT or PTA pro-

fessor, nominated by their students.

The program will continue on Saturday, September 13 at

Bellarmine University with topics on integrating technolo-

gy in the clinic, conquering student debt, implications of

the Affordable Care Act and much more!

While this event is for PT & PTA students only, we are still

accepting applications for sponsors.

Fall FUNction!!!

At KPTA’s Fall FUNction – you’re the star! This year’s event

is designed to surpass your expectations in education, in-

formation, networking and just plain fun. We’ll start the

Fun with the 2nd Annual FUNction reception on Friday,

September 26 at 7:00p.m. (EDT) at the Barrel House (903

Manchester Street, Lexington). ADVANCED REGISTRATION

FOR THE RECEPTION IS REQUIRED. For members wishing

to only attend the reception and not the full conference,

that option will be available when you register. The follow-

ing awards will be presented at the reception:

Donald H. Lange Lifetime Achievement Award

Outstanding Physical Therapist Service Award

Outstanding Physical

Therapist Assistant

Service Award

Richard V. McDougall

“Fledgling” Award

Outstanding Clinical

Educator Award

If you would like to nomi-

nate a colleague for an

award, click here for crite-

ria. The deadline for nomi-

nations has been extended

to August 1. (continued

page 11)

Inside…

2 KPTA Member Named APTA

National Student of the Year

2 CEU Update

3 PTA Caucus Corner

6 Medicare Myth

8. Sending Health Information

via Email

8 Report to Congress on Self

Referral

11 Practice Perspectives

AND MUCH MORE!

MONTICELLO STUDENT NAMED APTA NATIONAL STUDENT OF THE YEAR

A recent graduate of the Somerset Community College Physi-cal Therapist Assistant Program has been named the recipient of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) National Physical Therapist Assistant Student of the Year Award for 2014. Briana Allen of Monticello received her award at the APTA NEXT Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina in June. This is the eighth year in a row that a SCC student has won the award. SCC graduates who have won the award in the past include: Debbie Lasure of Stanford in 2013; Melissa Keith of Columbia in 2012; Erin Green of Danville in 2011; Valarie Cooper of Jamestown in 2010; Rod Edwards of Somerset in 2009; Bethany Gosser of Liberty in 2008; and Heather Tuel of Somerset in 2007. The criteria for the award include academic and clinical perfor-mance, community service and contributions to the physical therapy profession. Her nomination was supported by faculty members Ron Meade, Steve Hammons, and Claudette Prather and by Jeff Parmelee, PT of Somerset. Allen has been highly visible on SCC’s campus and in her com-munity. She served as president of SCC’s Martial Arts Club and Physical Therapy Student Organization and was an active par-ticipant in SCC’s Student Government Association. She had also served the college as a student ambassador. She was the recipient of the prestigious John T. Smith Scholarship. In addition, Allen volunteered for a number of community service projects and fundraisers, including volunteering to assist with free health screenings at the Kentucky Special Olympics, fundraising for the Foundation for Physical Therapy, and distributing information about organ and tissue donation. She represented the college at the 2013 Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival as the college’s queen candidate. In 2014, Allen received the APTA Academy of Geriatric Physical Therapy’s Outstanding Student Award in Las Vegas. “Briana has just been a joy to have in the classroom and to know as a person,” states program director Ron Meade. “Without a doubt, if I owned a clinic, I would hire Briana. She is kind, hard-working and conscientious and we are so proud of her many accomplishments.” Allen graduated from the SCC PTA Program in May. She is the daughter of Robert and Michelle Allen of Monticello and has a brother, Andre. She has worked for the physical therapy de-partment at Wayne County Hospital in the past. For more information about the SCC PTA Program, please con-

tact the director of the program at ron.meade@kctcs.edu.

Briana Allen of Monticello is the American Physical Therapy Associ-ation’s National PTA Student of the Year for 2014. Briana received

her award at the APTA NEXT 2014 Conference held in June.

CEU Update

Did you know that ANY course you take that is

produced, developed and offered by APTA or one

of its’ components will count toward your Cate-

gory 1 continued competency activities? Its true!

Even courses that are less than three hours in

length will count as Category 1 as long as it is

through APTA or one of its’ components. That

means that KPTA members will get CEU credit for

attending educational programming at our district

meetings! APTA also offers FREE continuing edu-

cation on its’ Learning Center! Click here for a

listing of free CEU’s.

PTA Caucus Corner By Chris Garland, PTA (chrisgarland221@gmail.com)

The 2014 PTA Caucus Annual Meeting Minutes and House of Delegates

Chris Garland, PTA, PTA Caucus Representative for the Kentucky Chapter participated in the 2014 PTA

Caucus Annual Meeting and APTA’s House of Delegates. Forty-five PTA Caucus Representatives, 8 PTA

Caucus Alternate Representatives, and 5 Delegates gathered in Charlotte June 7 and 8 for the PTA Caucus Annual

Meeting.

PTA Caucus Nominating Committee conducted candidate interviews and elections. Those elected to serve included: Da-

vid Harris (TN), Delegate; Crystal Morris (NC), Delegate; Jane Jackson (AZ) Alternate Delegate; and Nicole Volek (TX),

Nominating Committee. The Chief Delegate also acknowledged outgoing officers, Paul Purdue (WA), Crystal Morris (NC),

Jane Jackson (AZ), and Christina Wilson (AL) as well as those who had attained PTA Recognition.

The PTA Caucus voted down a motion to change voting privileges for the delegates in the PTA Caucus. The Caucus

adopted a description of the PTA to be included in the approved updated version of the PTA Caucus Procedure Manual

and used as needed pending approval of the Procedure Manual by the APTA House Officers via the “Approval Process for

Component Bylaws.”

The PTA Caucus honored the Board members of the work group – Jennifer Green-Wilson, Chair, Shawne Soper, Lisa Sala-

din, and Sharon Dunn. Janet Bezner was also honored for her efforts on the work group and her support of PTA members

during her tenure at APTA.

From the House of Delegates:

The official minutes of the House of Delegates are not yet available; please check the actual language for the following

motions when the minutes are available. The House made the following decisions that impact work and governance in

APTA for the PTA:

· RC 2-12 was rescinded, so there was no reason to hear RC 3-14 or RC 4-14. The patient care delivery model will not

change - PTAs will remain the only other physical therapy care provider in APTA positions and policies (at least for

now).

· RC 11-14 resulted in the House charging the Board (and staff) to create a plan to increase the value of PTA membership

in APTA.

From the March and April APTA Board of Directors Meetings:

At the March APTA Board of Directors Meeting, the Board discussed RC 20-12 regarding the feasibility study for PTA ed-

ucation. The Board determined that there was insufficient information to make a decision and adopted the following mo-

tions aimed at gathering more data:

· That APTA conduct an analysis of the work of the physical therapist assistant.

· That mechanisms to identify and promote best practices in the work and relationships of the Physical Therapist (PT)/

Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA) Team in a variety of practice settings be identified and implemented in collaboration

with the sections, American Council of Academic Physical Therapy (ACAPT), Commission on Accreditation in Physical

Therapy Education (CAPTE), and PTA Caucus.

At the April APTA Board of Directors Meeting, the Board heard and discussed the report from the PTA Board Work

Group and adopted the following motions: (continued page 5)

PTA Caucus Corner (continued)

· That a bylaw amendment to provide eligibility for physical therapist assistant members to serve in non-officer positions on

the Board of Directors (Board) be forwarded to the 2015 House of Delegates.

· That a bylaw amendment to allow components the option to amend their bylaws to provide physical therapist assistant

members a full vote at the component level be forwarded to the 2015 House of Delegates.

· That bylaw amendments would establish physical therapist assistant membership eligibility to serve as a chapter dele-

gate and continue to serve as a section delegate to the House of Delegates, at the discretion of each component, and would

eliminate the Physical Therapist Assistant Caucus delegates by the year 2020 be forwarded to the 2015 House of Delegates.

· That APTA policies related to the Physical Therapist Assistant Caucus be reviewed and revised to reflect the way in which

the Physical Therapist Assistant Caucus currently operates.

· That procedures be developed to encourage physical therapist assistant (PTA) members to join the volunteer interest pool

and to facilitate the appointment of PTA members by the APTA Board of Directors and APTA staff to appropriate groups.

· That data on the value of the physical therapist/physical therapist assistant team related to utilization and outcomes be

collected via one or more of the following mechanisms in order to implement the most feasible approach to begin data col-

lection in FY 2014:

Explore access to existing/developing databases

Determine resources required to collect data

· That the physical therapist/physical therapist assistant team tool kit that describes the models of practice for physical ther-

apist/physical therapist assistant teams and is a resource for members to communicate the role of the physical therapist as-

sistant in physical therapist practice to payers be actively supported and promoted to APTA Components.

· That a motion be prepared for the 2015 House of Delegates to consider the creation of a section-like component for physi-

cal therapist assistants and in the interim that the charge of the PTA Board Work Group be revised by the president to work

towards advancing physical therapist assistant initiatives.

(Minutes available at: http://www.apta.org/BOD/Meetings/)

As you can see, the PTA Caucus and APTA Board of Directors are working hard to change the culture of APTA to one of

inclusiveness. They have done their part and now it is time for you – clinicians, faculty and students – to do yours by doing

the following:

1. Join APTA. It is very difficult to convince APTA leadership that PTAs are invested in the profession when less than 8% of

licensed PTAs are members of APTA.

2. Get active at the district and/or chapter (state) level of APTA. Go to meetings. Volunteer to help on committees. If you

feel isolated, then take your PTA and/or PT friends with you to the next meeting so you won’t be alone!

3. Campaign and vote for chapter (state) delegates and leadership that value PTAs and will support this change in culture.

The members of the Affiliate Assembly, National Assembly, and PTA Caucus have provided innumerable hours and displayed

the utmost professionalism to get to this point. Please be part of this evolution to a new and more inclusive role in APTA

for PTAs.

PT/PTA Teamwork: Success Stories From the Field For almost 45 years, physical therapists (PTs) and physical therapist assistants (PTAs) have been working together to provide quality physical therapy services. Benefits of the PT/PTA team in physical therapy care include:

Extending the reach of the PT to improve access to physical therapy care

Consistency of care where patients can expect to see at least one of their physical therapy "team" at each visit

Opportunities for collaborative care that may result in increased efficiency and effectiveness

Cost conscious care where both providers are able to work at the top of their license Working as part of the PT/PTA Team is not only beneficial for the patient, it can be a rewarding partnership for the PT and PTA. Listen to these stories of how working PT/PTA teams provide excellent patient care and a gratifying work en-vironment through respect and collaboration. If you want to learn more about the PT/PTA Team, email us at PTA@apta.org.

Medicare Myth

There has been a longstanding myth that Medicare does not cover services to maintain or manage a

beneficiary's current condition when no functional improvement is possible. The recent Jimmo vs

Sebelius final settlement sought to dispel this fallacy and provide clarifications to safeguard against

unfair denials by Medicare contractors for skilled therapy services that aid in maintaining a patient's

current condition or to prevent or slow decline. For more information, please visit APTA’s website:

http://www.apta.org/Payment/Medicare/CoverageIssues/SkilledMaintenance/.

Click the picture to watch Jenelle Lauchman and Joel Gersh discuss the PT/PTA Team. Visit here for

more videos.

Tips for Sending Protected Health

Information Via Email

By Elizabeth E. Hogue, Esq.

The use of email pervades the healthcare world to-

day. Without thinking, many providers send information

all day, every day via email messages. Providers must take

extra care, however, with the transmission of protected

health information (PHI), as defined by the Health Insur-

ance Portability Accountability Act (HIPAA).

First, providers should consider alternatives to the disclo-

sure of PHI in email messages, such as:

Telephone calls, instead of emails

Establishment of an extranet with encryption and lim-

ited access rights

Sending PHI on CDs, DVDs, or flash drives via overnight

delivery service

It may also be unnecessary to refer to patients at all in

email messages. If updated orders are received from a

physician, for example, a message could be sent alerting

staff to receipt of orders from Dr. X for a male patient.

If it is necessary to refer to individual patients, providers

should consider referring to patients by the initials of their

first and last names, instead of using their full names.

Providers may also wish to implement encryption or se-

cure email messaging in order to protect PHI in emails. If

the recipient cannot support the use of encryption or se-

cure messages, however, this option may not be viable.

If providers elect to use encryption, encryption programs

must meet standards published by the National Institute

of Standards and Technology (NIST). When providers use

programs that meet these standards, they may avoid an

obligation to report breaches because they fall within a

safe harbor or exception to the obligation to report

breaches.

It is important to note that unencrypted emails may al-

ways be sent to patients who are the subject of the PHI

that is sent. Providers should tell patients that there is

some risk of disclosure, but providers are not responsible

for unauthorized access if patients still wish to receive in-

formation via unencrypted message.

Here are additional potential problem areas that providers

may encounter when they are sending PHI via email and

how to handle them:

Sending emails to multiple recipients that include PHI:

providers should blind carbon copy (bcc) recipients, as

opposed to listing them all in the "to" line

Sending PHI to or from personal email accounts: pro-

viders should avoid both of these practices altogether

Email addresses that "auto-fill": providers should care-

fully check addresses that auto-fill to make certain

that they are correct

Finally, providers should develop a comprehensive policy

and procedure that governs sending PHI via email. Staff

members should be thoroughly trained regarding compli-

ance with this policy and procedure.

The stakes are high! The Office of Civil Rights and State

Attorneys General, the enforcers of privacy rights, are in

enforcement mode! Special care with regard to this area

is definitely needed now.

©2014 Elizabeth E. Hogue, Esq. All rights reserved.

Report to Congress on Self-Referral

There has been a series of reports developed by the Gov-

ernment Accountably Office regarding self-referral for

Medicare beneficiaries. The final report described total

visits, total expenditures, and beneficiaries that receive

services. After the report was published, a joint congres-

sional statement included the following: “… Viewed collec-

tively, the four GAO reports show substantial evidence

that financial incentives, not patient needs, are driving

some referral patterns …”

APTA’s “Integrity in Practice” Campaign seeks to eliminate

the inappropriate utilization of physical therapy.

For more information, please visit APTA’s website: http://

www.apta.org/LegislativeIssues/SelfReferral/.

Practice Perspectives

Guide to Physical Therapist Practice 3.0

Guide 3.0 will be released August 2014. It will be online

only and is intended to provide a description of practice

for academia and clinicians, with other resources address-

ing external communities. The elements of patient and

client management are unchanged. ICF language is used

throughout. There are category and language changes.

The practice patterns being archived will be used only for

educational purposes. The catalogue of test and measures

will be retired, as clinicians are directed toward PTNow for

evidence-based practice. For more information, please

visit APTA’s website: http://guidetoptpractice.apta.org/.

Physical Therapy Classification & Payment System

APTA's goal is to reform payment for outpatient physical

therapy services to improve quality of care, recognize and

promote the clinical judgment of the physical therapist,

and provide policymakers and payers with an accurate

payment system that ensures the integrity of medically

necessary services. APTA is working to develop a classifica-

tion and payment system that is based on the clinical judg-

ment of the physical therapist. Factors in payment will

include the severity/complexity of the patient’s presenta-

tion with the added dimension of the required intensity/

complexity of the therapist’s clinical decision making and

skill/expertise of techniques. For more information, please

visit APTA’s website, http://www.apta.org/PTCPS/, or con-

tact Carmen Elliott, carmenelliott@apta.org.

Physical Therapist Practice in the Emergency Department

Physical therapists are increasingly being asked to provide

evaluation and management of patients in the emergency

department (ED) setting. As part of the emergency depart-

ment team, physical therapists have the opportunity to

collaborate in the care of patients with a wide range of

acute and chronic problems coming from the neuromus-

culoskeletal, cardiovascular/pulmonary, and integumen-

tary systems. The physical therapist in the ED serves a

critical role in screening for appropriateness of care, con-

sultation with other practitioners, and in the direct care of

patients. Based on a motion at the 2012 House, APTA has

developed new resources on how to incorporate

physical therapist practice in the ED. The resources include

how to get started, billing and documentation, and re-

sources on the benefits of physical therapist services in

the ED. For more information, please visit APTA’s website:

http://www.apta.org/EmergencyDepartment/.

Upcoming Events (continued from cover)

Danville-Area PT Pub Night

The Danville area therapists will

meet on August 19 at 7:00p.m. at

Wilderness Trace Distillery, 445 Roy

Arnold Boulevard. Attendees will be

treated to a tour of the distillery,

followed by a discussion on the lat-

est opinions issued by the Kentucky State Board of Physi-

cal Therapy. Please RSVP by August 15 to

kptaky@gmail.com as we need to provide a headcount

to the distillery in advance.

Lexington-Area PT Pub Night

The next Lexington area PT

Pub Night will be August 21 at

7:00p.m. at Blue Stallion

Brewing. Join your colleagues

in a conversation on the is-

sues affecting physical thera-

py. All PTs and PTAs welcome!

Ron Barbato, PT, will facilitate the dis-

cussion at the Danville PT Pub Night. A

member of the Kentucky State Board of

Physical Therapy, Ron will discuss the

latest opinions issued by the KBPT.

Bring your questions and come ready

for conversation !

Please Support Our Valuable Partners

APTA Opposes United Healthcare’s Plan To Use Functional Limitation

Reporting

APTA is urging that UnitedHealthcare (UHC) stop its plan to implement Medicare outpatient therapy functional re-

porting code requirements in its Medicare Advantage plans.

UHC announced its decision to implement functional limitation reporting in their May bulletin (.pdf, p.46). The com-

pany plans to require G-codes and severity/complexity modifiers on contracted physical therapist (PT) claims with

dates of service on or after August 1, 2014. Claims that do not include the appropriate G-code and modifiers will be

rejected.

In its letter to UHC, APTA argues that the difficulties experi-

enced by PTs during Medicare's changeover to the require-

ments, as well as limitations in data, make UHC's planned Au-

gust 1 move ill-advised.

APTA has its own functional limitation reporting webpage that

provides resources to help members meet this reporting re-

quirement.

ICD-10 Resource Page

If you’re feeling overwhelmed about ICD-10 implementation,

be sure to checkout APTA’s ICD-10 Resource Page. The page

contains great tips and links to webinars to help you prepare

for the October 1, 2015 transition from ICD-9 to ICD-10. Also,

be sure to fill out KPTA’s Payment Policy Survey so we can en-

sure your successful implementation.

Payment Policy Survey

Please take a few minutes to complete our eight-

question Payment Policy Survey. Your responses

will help us improve your member benefits by:

Working with insurer’s to identify solutions to

reimbursement problems.

Working with the Kentucky Department of In-

surance to identify insurers who are not abiding

by Kentucky’s copay law.

Identifying what areas our members need sup-

port with reimbursement issues (i.e. ICD-10

implementation, Medicaid, Medicare, etc.).

PLEASE TAKE THE SURVEY TODAY!

September 26

7:00p.m.

The Barrel House

903 Manchester Street

Lexington

Watch you email for an invitation to the reception. Advanced registration IS required.

A celebration of YOU!

If you need accommodations, we suggest one of the following venues:

Holiday Inn Express (http://www.visitlex.com/listings/Holiday-Inn-Express-Hotel-Suites-Downtown/6193/)

Hilton Lexington Downtown (http://www.visitlex.com/listings/Hilton-Lexington-Downtown/5891/)

Hyatt Regency Lexington (http://www.visitlex.com/listings/Hyatt-Regency-Lexington/6178/)

KPTA received the 2014

“Innovative Component

Award” from APTA for collab-

orating with other healthcare

providers to positively affect

payment policy, advocacy and

inter-professional networking.

Pictured from left: KPTA Exec-

utive Director, Lisa Volz; APTA

President, Paul Rockar, PT,

DPT, MS; and KPTA President,

Michael Muscarella, PT, DPT,

LDE.

KPTA Members Shine at APTA’s NEXT 2014

KPTA Member, Terry Brown, PT, DPT, COMPT was a partici-

pant in this year’s Oxford Debate. Held June 13, the debate

could easily have been retitled "Oxford: The Musical." Teams

from both sides included song parodies to argue their side of

the debate's topic, which was whether or not evidence-

driven manual therapy improves patient outcomes. Terry

participated on the "pro" team, arguing that evidence-driven

manual therapy does not necessarily improve patient out-

comes.

While the moderator, Charles Ciccone, PT, PhD, FAPTA, de-

clared the "pro" team the winners based on each member's

presentation and audience response, it wasn't clear which, if

any, side of the issue emerged on top content-wise. Perhaps

opponents Dunn and Seif joining each other on stage in

matching Wonder Woman outfits was indicative of a sense

that there is room for both camps: tools such as clinical pre-

diction rules, combined with the physical therapist's clinical

judgment and reasoning, provide for better outcomes than

either approach alone.

The playful atmosphere was, as a participant described it

afterward, like watching a kid's cartoon salted with some

adult references: not only was it a lot of fun, but if you un-

derstood the issue, you got the messages, too. "

Andrea Behrman, PhD, PT, FAPTA accepts

the John HP Maley Lecture Award from

APTA President, Paul Rockar, PT, DPT. Dr.

Behrman is Director of the Pediatric Neuro-

Recovery Program and co-Director of the

Reeve Foundation NeuroRecovery Network

with a mission of infusing standardized

evidence and activity-based therapies into

clinical practice across clinical sites in the

U.S. and Canada.

Dr Behrman will be a featured presenter at

this year’s Kentucky Student Conclave.

(Continued next page)

KPTA Members Shine at APTA’s

NEXT 2014 (continued)

Sarah Beth Martin, SPT, PhD

received the Mary McMillan

Scholarship Award. The intent

of the award is to recognize

those students who exhibit su-

perior scholastic ability and

potential for future professional

contribution. Congratulations,

Sarah!

Are You Getting the Attention You

Deserve?

If you enjoyed this edition of KPTA’s Newsletter, consider

advertising in our next edition. Our newsletter is e-mailed

to over 1,300 PTs, PTAs and students throughout the

Commonwealth and is archived on our website,

www.kpta.org. Our rates are:

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Contact the KPTA office to make arrangements for your

facility to be featured in our next edition, and get the

attention you deserve!

Discount Benefit Program for APTA

Members

APTA members are eligible to apply for a full range of cost-

saving and value-added products and services.

Got questions? Members are invited to contact APTA's

Member Services Department for assistance whenever

questions or concerns arise regarding risk management or

member benefits. Reach us at 800/999-2782, ext 3146, or

at insfinsvcs@apta.org. We look forward to serving you.

APTA Online Mall

Receive cash back for online purchases at your favorite stores through the APTA Online Mall, powered by Azigo! Car Rental Program APTA members save money when you rent a car from partnering companies. PT Clinician App for APTA Members A personalized mobile app solution to streamline commu-nication with patients by giving them a unique and con-venient way to interact with their physical therapist out-side the clinic. Office Depot Discount Program APTA members can save up to 80% on all in store and online purchases on eligible office and school supplies from Office Depot.

Getting the Most From Your

Membership

APTA provides a variety of benefits for their members. Browse here to ensure you’re getting the most from your membership. Learn about the value of membership from our mem-

bers! Membership matters!