Medical documentation for Bilateral lower limb prostheses.
James DeWees
Description
Collection
Title:
Medical documentation for Bilateral lower limb prostheses.
Creator:
James DeWees
Date:
2/2/2016
Text:
Hello Everyone,
I need some advice from this group.
I have 3 bilateral amputees that I am working with. My normal process for getting the medical documentation is to have the patient visit a physical therapist (there are a few clinics here locally that are trained on the Amputee Mobility Predictor (amp no pro)). Then with that K-level assessment, I send a note to the physician with an example of what Medicare requires in the chart notes ( the patients has the desire to ambulate , the Physical Therapist did the mobility predictor and determined the functional level, the patient's abilities, daily activities, his/her needs and everything). When I get this all back to my office, I verify that what is written and documented is signed appropriately, dated correctly, etc.
With the bilateral amputees, the AmpNoPro test will not work.
HOW do we go about determining the K-level? I am thinking that I will ask the physical therapist to evaluate the patients, to determine their upper body strength, to make the decision on what is the honest ability of the amputees, what their functional level will be in their best assessment.
I don't know how they can make a really objective determination for this. This will be a subjective evaluation, and so I would appreciate any information on how others are getting documentation to determine the k-level for these bilateral amputees.
What does the physician write for justification or the Medical Necessity of the prosthetic legs? What does the Physical Therapist need to write in their notes to clearly determine the K-level?
Thanks everyone,
Jim DeWees, CP
I need some advice from this group.
I have 3 bilateral amputees that I am working with. My normal process for getting the medical documentation is to have the patient visit a physical therapist (there are a few clinics here locally that are trained on the Amputee Mobility Predictor (amp no pro)). Then with that K-level assessment, I send a note to the physician with an example of what Medicare requires in the chart notes ( the patients has the desire to ambulate , the Physical Therapist did the mobility predictor and determined the functional level, the patient's abilities, daily activities, his/her needs and everything). When I get this all back to my office, I verify that what is written and documented is signed appropriately, dated correctly, etc.
With the bilateral amputees, the AmpNoPro test will not work.
HOW do we go about determining the K-level? I am thinking that I will ask the physical therapist to evaluate the patients, to determine their upper body strength, to make the decision on what is the honest ability of the amputees, what their functional level will be in their best assessment.
I don't know how they can make a really objective determination for this. This will be a subjective evaluation, and so I would appreciate any information on how others are getting documentation to determine the k-level for these bilateral amputees.
What does the physician write for justification or the Medical Necessity of the prosthetic legs? What does the Physical Therapist need to write in their notes to clearly determine the K-level?
Thanks everyone,
Jim DeWees, CP
Citation
James DeWees, “Medical documentation for Bilateral lower limb prostheses.,” Digital Resource Foundation for Orthotics and Prosthetics, accessed November 8, 2024, https://library.drfop.org/items/show/241980.