Profession

Sequester Medicare Rate Cut Into Effect April 1

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Published on 29 April 2013

Medicare Advantage, Part A and Part B providers should expect a 2% reduction in payment based on submitted claims for services provided to Medicare beneficiaries beginning April 1, 2013, according to the American Speech Language Hearing Association (ASHA). The 2% payment adjustment required under sequestration is applied to each claim after payment is calculated based on the current fee schedule and any applicable co-pays, deductibles, and Medicare Secondary Payment adjustments have been applied. All fee schedules and pricers are unchanged by sequestration; only the final payment amount

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New organization will help children born with Microtia

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Published on 25 April 2013

An eight-year-old boy named Santiago from Ecuador will be the first patient to receive free treatment for Microtia from a new non-profit organization created to help children born without ears. Earicles (Miracles for Ears) was launched by Dr. Sheryl Lewin, a Craniofacial Plastic Surgeon based in Santa Monica, California, who specializes in reconstructing ears. Dr. Lewin has dedicated her career to ear reconstruction, specializing in Microtia, a congenital condition in which

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Deaf patients receive poor health care in Ghana

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Published on 18 April 2013

The inability of doctors and nurses to understand and interpret sign language is leading to wrong prescriptions of medicines for deaf persons, according to the Ghana National Association of the Deaf (GNAD). As a result, many expectant mothers who are deaf are losing their lives, the association says. James M. Sambian, Executive Director of GNAD, says

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The Vanderbilt Process dramatically improves cochlear patient hearing

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Published on 09 April 2013

Longtime cochlear implant users are reporting dramatic improvements in their hearing, thanks to new image-guided programming methods developed by Vanderbilt University researchers.

The university’s automated image-guided programming method can dramatically improve

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Flying docs provide free hearing checks

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Published on 02 April 2013

Australia’s iconic aeromedical service, the Flying Doctors, have joined forces with the Wimmera Hearing Society to provide free hearing checks at Warragul Farm World. This year’s Farm World at Lardner Park – which ran from March 21st to 24th - coincided with the 85th anniversary of the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) in Australia. RFDS Victoria General Manager Health, Gary Layton, said

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When you perform well, it will show

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Published on 26 March 2013

The new Dutch system for the distribution of hearing aids represents a world wide novelty. 'Evidence based medicine' in the distribution of hearing aids would be the most desirable option, but cannot be attained as yet. With 'practice based evidence' The Netherlands will get the second best option, says prof. dr. ir. Wouter Dreschler, chair in Clinical and Experimental Audiology at the Academical Medical Center Amsterdam. In the new system all new fitting trajectories and hearing aid sales are subjected

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Open Access Guide for ENTs in Developing World launched

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Published on 20 March 2013

A new open access guide has been created to assist otolaryngologists and audiologists in the developing world. The guide is a free text and is intended to help those who manage hearing problems where qualified audiologists are frequently not available.

“There are no copyright restrictions, and colleagues are welcome to use, copy and quote as they wish,” say editors Johan Fagan, Claude Laurent and De Wet Swanepoel. “The textbook is still in evolution and chapters will be added as they are completed over the coming months.”

The project was first launched

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Sonitus announces update on bone conduction oral appliances

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Published on 15 March 2013

California-based Sonitus Medical, Inc, the manufacturer of the world’s first and only non-surgical and removable hearing device to transmit sound through the teeth, has announced that the American Academy of Otolaryngology- Head and Neck Surgery has approved a policy statement on implantable hearing devices that includes placement of a bone conduction oral applicance as an acceptable procedure for the relief of appropriate indications, such as Single Sided Deafness or Conductive Hearing loss when performed by a qualified professional. This means that patients

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Washington Physicians want full training disclosure

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Published on 28 February 2013

The Washington State Medical Association (WSMA) is calling for greater transparency in how healthcare professionals, including audiologists, identify themselves to patients. “The WSMA believes that all healthcare professionals should clearly and accurately identify themselves to patients,” says the association. “Many healthcare professionals can earn advanced degrees that carry the title "doctor," including

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Brazilian Ministry of Health allocates money to update speech processors

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Published on 22 February 2013

In November, Brazil’s Ministry of Health agreed to pay $7 million (US) to replace speech processors in 911 patients with cochlear implants who are served by its public health care system. The allocation came at the request of ADAP, an association that supports cochlear implant users in Brazil.

The replacements were for many patients who had surgeries performed between 1999 and 2006 whose device model had been

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