Heritage Medical Equipment, LLC

Happy New Year!

Heritage Medical Equipment wishes you a healthy, happy ,and prosperous new year.

Carpal Tunnel

What is carpal tunnel syndrome?  Can a carpal tunnel splint or capral tunnel brace help?

Carpal tunnel is also called Median Nerve Dysfunction or Median Nerve Entrapment.  It happens when pressure is applied to the median nerve.  The median nerve provides sensation and movement to the parts of the hand, wrist, and fingers.

Common symptons are:

• Weakness in the hands
• A weak grip
• Problems with finger coordination
• Wrist pain
• Numbness or tingling in the plam
• Numbness or tingling in the thumb and fingers closest to the thumb  

Though medications, surgeries, and injections can be used to treat carpal tunnel one of the best options is to wear a wrist splint or wrist brace while you sleep.  Medications and injections present with side effects, wrist braces do not.  

A wrist splint will position your wrist in a manner that will relieve pressure on the Median Nerve.  It may take several weeks to achieve complete pain relief but wrist braces are a safe, proven, and inexpensive solution.  Ask your dotor if a wrist splint is the right treatment option for you.

What Are Shin Splints?

 

Shin pain is often referred to as shin splints.  The medical term is Tibial Stress Syndrome.  To understand shin pain you must first understand what is causing it.

Shin splints are common injuries for athletes, especially runners.  Flat feet, overuse, and stress fractures are the usual culprits.  So to say you have shin splints is not enough, you must learn what is causing the shin pain.  

Treatment options will vary but not by much.  

• Rest is important to let your injuries heal.  
• Anti-inflammatory pain killers can help with the pain and swelling but these drugs present with a lot of side effects.  Short term use is usually okay, but long-term can lead to bleeding ulcers and liver damage.
• Arch Supports or custom foot orthotics are great if flat feet are your problem.
• A Neoprene Sleeve will provide warmth and compression to the front of your leg.  This a great inexpensive treatment option that can't hurt to try.
• Physical Therapy can be a great help.  You will learn stretches and exercises to prevent future injuries as well as treat your current condition.

It will take time for your shin splints to heal, 3 to 6 months is not uncommon.  Be sure to see your doctor and don't rush back to activity before your leg has healed.  Pain is your body's way of explaining to you that somethig is wrong.  Pushing your injury before it gets better can lead to permanent problems.

Nouveau Prosthetics - Continuing Education

Vinny Palmieri and Glenn Easton

Vinny Palmieri and Glenn Easton recently participated in Heritage Medical Equipment's countinuing education course on pre-fabricated back braces.  They work at Noveau Prosthetics, a full service orthotic and prosthetic facility located in Brooklyn, NY.  

We discussed which back braces are appropriate for lower back pain, mechanical back pain, herniated dics, osteoporosis, and compression fractures.  We also discussed the Reasonable Useful Life (RUL) requirements imposed by Medicare and Medicaid, L-Codes, PDAC Letters, and pricing.

The ABC and BOC have approved this cme presentation for 1.5 ceus.

     

Fact sheet about the competitively bid items and services included in Round 2.

Click here for the fact sheet.

Round 2 Items and Services
Download Round_2_HCPCS_Codes
Adobe Acrobat PDF file containing Round 2 HCPCS codes. Page numbers for each product category are listed on the first page. You may click on the name of the product category to go directly to the list of corresponding HCPCS codes. To look up a particular HCPCS code or payment class (oxygen), type the HCPCS code or payment class in the "Find" box located at the top of the PDF and hit "Enter." Please note that the following HCPCS codes have been removed from the Round 2 Standard Wheelchairs product category: E0986, E1030, and K0005.

Do You Need More Info on the DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Process?

Educational Information

Medicare Announces Timeline for Bidding; Begins Bidder Education Program for DMEPOS Competitive Bidding

Bidding Timeline

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced the bidding timeline for the Round 2 and national mail-order competitions of the Medicare Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies (DMEPOS) Competitive Bidding Program. To view the timeline, visit the Competitive Bidding Implementation Contractor (CBIC) website at www.dmecompetitivebid.com.

Bidder Education Program

CMS has also launched a comprehensive bidder education program. This program is designed to ensure that DMEPOS suppliers interested in bidding receive the information and assistance they need to submit complete bids in a timely manner. The CBIC is the official information source for bidders and the focal point for bidder education. The CBIC website, www.dmecompetitivebid.com, features a comprehensive array of important information for suppliers, including bidding rules, user guides, policy fact sheets, checklists, and bid preparation worksheets. The education program will also include webcasts that will cover all the essential topics suppliers will need to know in order to bid. These webcasts will be posted on the CBIC website and will be available 24 hours a day/7 days a week. When a webcast is posted, the CBIC will announce its availability through a CBIC e-mail update announcement. To sign up to receive webcast announcements and other key registration and bidding information, visit the CBIC website at www.dmecompetitivebid.com and subscribe to e-mail updates.

In addition to viewing the information on the CBIC website, DMEPOS suppliers are encouraged to call the CBIC toll-free help desk, 1-877-577-5331, with their questions and concerns.

To view the Press Release, please click: www.cms.gov/apps/media/press_releases.asp.
To view the Fact Sheet, please click: www.cms.gov/apps/media/fact_sheets.asp.

State by State Listings for Competitive Bidding

Please select a state for a list of that state's Round 1 Rebid and Round 2 competitive bidding areas (CBAs). You will see the name(s) of the CBA(s) in the state and a link to a map of each CBA and the ZIP codes included in that CBA.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW MAP

These maps are representative of the areas included in the CBAs. However, they may not be refined to the point where they completely and accurately depict the exact boundary of the ZIP codes making up each CBA. To determine whether a specific ZIP code is included in the competitive bidding program, please refer to the downloadable ZIP code file.

The national mail-order competition CBA includes all ZIP codes in all parts of the United States, including the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa.

December 12, 2011

Registration Now Open for DMEPOS Competitive Bidding (CMS Message 201112-03)

Registration is now open and available to all suppliers interested in participating in the Round 2 and national mail-order competitions of the Medicare Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies (DMEPOS) Competitive Bidding Program. When bidding opens, suppliers will need to submit their bids using the DMEPOS on-line bidding system (DBidS). To help ensure bid security and privacy, suppliers interested in bidding must first register all employees that will enter information in DBidS to obtain a user ID and password through the Individuals Authorized Access to CMS Computer Services (IACS) system. Only supplier employees that have a user ID and password will be able to access DBidS; suppliers that do not register will not be able to bid.

If you are a supplier interested in bidding, register now - don't wait. Designate one authorized official (AO) listed on the CMS-855S enrollment form to act as your AO for registration purposes. The AO must register for a user ID and password first and must approve other supplier employees' requests to register. After an AO successfully registers, the AO may designate other authorized officials on the CMS-855S to serve as backup authorized officials (BAO). The AO and BAOs can designate other supplier employees as end users (EU). BAOs and EUs must also register for a user ID and password to be able to use the on-line bidding system. The name, date of birth, and Social Security number (SSN) of the AO and BAOs must match exactly with what is on file with the National Supplier Clearinghouse to register successfully.

We strongly urge all AOs to register no later than December 22, 2011 to ensure that BAOs and EUs have time to register before bidding begins. We recommend that BAOs register no later than January 12, 2012 so that they will be able to assist AOs with approving EU registration. Registration will close on February 9, 2012 at 9 p.m. prevailing Eastern Time - no AOs, BAOs, or EUs can register after registration closes.

To register, go to the Competitive Bidding Implementation Contractor (CBIC) website and click on "REGISTRATION IS OPEN" above the Registration Clock on the home page. Please review the IACS Reference Guide posted on the website for step-by-step instructions on registration. You will also find a registration checklist and Quick Step guides on the CBIC website. If you have any questions about the registration process, please contact the CBIC Customer Service Center at 1-877-577-5331.

The CBIC is the official information source for bidders. All suppliers interested in bidding are urged to sign up for E-mail Updates on the home page of the CBIC website. For information about Round 2 and the national mail-order competition, including bidder education materials, please refer to the resources located under Bidding Suppliers: Round 2 & National Mail-Order on the CBIC website.

Somerset Prosthetics & Orthotics

Glen Honcharik, CP & Joseph Evans CPO

 

Glen Honcharik and Joseph Evans of Somerset Prosthetics & Orthotics recently participated in Heritage Medical Equipment's "Bracing the Arthritic Knee" course.  We discussed the importance of knee braces as treatment options for patients suffering with knee osteoarthritis.  

Somerset P&O is a full service orthotic and prosthetic facility located in Bound Brook, NJ.  They accept most insurances.  Their new website is coming soon!

Boxer Fracture

Broken pinky, metacarpal fracture, boxers break, or boxers fracture, call it what you want, these finger injuries usually happen the same way.  Someone got angry and punched something they shouldn't have.  My apologies to anyone suffering from a 5th metacarpal (pinky) fracture that earned it some other way.

Often times boxer fractures occur in inebriated young males who temporary lose control and punch something harder than their hands.  Doctors struggle with choosing the correct treatment for boxers fractures.  To cast or not to cast - that is the question.  Doctors know that the type of patient to get drunk, get angry, and then punch something will not tolerate having their hands in a cast.  Patients with boxer's fractures often times remove the casts applied by doctors shortly after receiving treatment.  Why?  It has to do with control.

So how do you provide fracture stabilization to someone with a broken pinky that won't wear a cast?  Try a boxer fracture splint.  These orthopedic devices are easy to put on and take off.  Boxer splints give patients considerably more control over their treatment than a hard, fixed, plaster cast.