If I have a patient who needs no assistance with voice banking, I don't see them during this process. These patients usually have full control over their speech and voicing functions and need no direct support with this activity.

If they need assistance with voice banking via cueing due to rate, breathing, prosody or phrasing issues, I feel a dysarthria diagnosis is justified and I use it along with the ALS dx for billing purposes. There are a couple of other motor speech diagnostic codes available, but I feel dysarthria best represents this circumstance.

Amy

On Fri, Jun 15, 2018 at 4:36 PM, Amy Roman <xxxxxx@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
Hi,
I agree that the 92507 procedure code is appropriate for message and voice banking appointments. I use it an do get reimbursed.   It is also easy to demonstrate and document the benefit for G-coding, at these visits, by using the ALS Functional Communication Scale (patients go from "unable" to "able" on items 6 and 7 raising them from a CJ to CH on G-code scores). 

My concern is often with my diagnostic coding.  The medical Dx is of course ALS but at times the patient has no detectable speech change, by any measurement, to justify a diagnosis of dysarthria.  I believe I do need a speech diagnosis to bill 92507.  While it makes sense to do message or voice banking before speech is impaired, without dysarthria what is our speech diagnosis?  What are peoples thoughts?  How are you billing speech Dx when the patient's speech is still unimpaired?


Sincerely,

Amy Roman, MS, CCC-SLP
Augmentative Communication Specialist



Forbes Norris ALS Research and Treatment Center
2324 Sacramento Street
San Francisco, CA 94115
Cell (415)518-0592
Fax (415)600-3778


From: Ben Lieman <xxxxxx@als-ny.org>
To: "xxxxxx@alsa.simplelists.com" <xxxxxx@alsa.simplelists.com>
Sent: Friday, June 15, 2018 6:37 AM
Subject: Voice Banking - coding for insurance?

Could anyone share if, and what insurance code, SLPs might use for time spent assisting patients with voice banking?
 
Thank you,
Ben
 
Ben Lieman, ATP, MSW
Assistive Technology Specialist
The ALS Association Greater New York Chapter
42 Broadway, Suite 1724 New York, NY 10004
Direct: 212.720.3057 | Office: 212.619.1400
xxxxxx@als-ny.org / WWW.ALS-NY.org
 





--
Amy Lustig, PhD, MPH, CCC-SLP
Restorative Speech & Swallow, LLC
Jenkintown, PA  19046
215-460-1150
xxxxxx@gmail.com