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Many reflected on Memorial Day in observance of those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation.  OT-ADVANTAGE.COM would like to recognize those that gave the ultimate sacrifice, as well as recognize those that are currently serving in the U.S. Armed Forces.  OT-ADVANTAGE.COM would also like to salute 1LT Brandon T. Bodor, my husband, who is currently serving his 15 month tour in Iraq.

Also, the U.S. Armed Forces has rehab facilities throughout the world with OT clinicians helping to return our wounded men and women back to their indpendence.  A big thanks to those professionals too.  Below is a video of an OT serving in the U.S. Army.  This is a great display of how we all can help make a difference.

 Occupational Therapy Practitioners and recent Occupational Therapy grads below you'll find information that may be useful.  Have you heard of or know what NPI is?  You need to know about it now!  Read below:

The NPI will be Required for all HIPAA Standard Transactions on May 23, 2008.  This means:

• For all primary and secondary provider fields, only the NPI will be accepted and sent on all HIPAA electronic transactions (837I, 837P, NCPDP, DDE, 276/277, 270/271 and 835), paper claims (UB-04 and CMS-1500) and SPR remittance advice.    
• The reporting of Medicare legacy identifiers in any primary or secondary provider fields will result in the rejection of the transaction. 

NPI is now required on all Medicare claims!

Overview

The National Provider Identifier (NPI) is a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Administrative Simplification Standard. The NPI is a unique identification number for covered health care providers. Covered health care providers and all health plans and health care clearinghouses will use the NPIs in the administrative and financial transactions adopted under HIPAA. The NPI is a 10-position, intelligence-free numeric identifier (10-digit number). This means that the numbers do not carry other information about healthcare providers, such as the state in which they live or their medical specialty. Beginning May 23, 2007 (May 23, 2008, for small health plans), the NPI must be used in lieu of legacy provider identifiers in the HIPAA standards transactions. Covered entities may invoke contingency plans after May 23, 2007, and guidance about contingency plans may be found in the Downloads section below.

If you are a health care provider who bills for services, you probably need an NPI. If you bill Medicare for services, you definitely need an NPI! Getting an NPI is easy. Getting an NPI is free. The first step is to get your NPI. If you delay applying for your NPI, you risk your cash flow and that of your health care partners as well.

As outlined in the Federal Regulation, The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), covered providers must also share their NPI with other providers, health plans, clearinghouses, and any entity that may need it for billing purposes.

How to apply: https://nppes.cms.hhs.gov/NPPES/StaticForward.do?forward=static.npistart

Why do I need an NPI:  Any healthcare provider, who bills for services (particularly Medicare), you need an NPI.

What is the purpose of the National Provider Identifier (NPI)? Who must use it, and when: The purpose of the National Provider Identifier (NPI) is to uniquely identify a health care provider in standard transactions, such as health care claims. NPIs may also be used to identify health care providers on prescriptions, in internal files to link proprietary provider identification numbers and other information, in coordination of benefits between health plans, in patient medical record systems, in program integrity files, and in other ways. HIPAA requires that covered entities (i.e., health plans, health care clearinghouses, and those health care providers who transmit any health information in electronic form in connection with a transaction for which the Secretary of Health and Human Services has adopted a standard) use NPIs in standard transactions by the compliance dates. The compliance date for all covered entities except small health plans is May 23, 2007; the compliance date for small health plans is May 23, 2008. As of the compliance dates, the NPI will be the only health care provider identifier that can be used for identification purposes in standard transactions by covered entities.

If you haven't gotten your NPI or know what a NPI is check out: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/NationalProvIdentStand/01_Overview.asp#TopOfPage

Resource adapted from:  http://www.cms.hhs.gov/nationalprovidentstand/

If your clients need inspiration, look no further.  Here is a story I heard on the Today Show.  Oscar Pistorius is a young man from South Africa, who is considered the "fastest man on no legs."  Born without fibulas, Oscar had bilateral lower extremity amputations at 11 months old.  More recently, Oscar was denied to qualify for the 2008 Beijing Olympics because officials thought his "Cheetah" Flex Foot Prosthetics gave him an advantage over the other entrants.  Now a judgment has been reversed, allowing him to compete to qualify for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.  His determination, tenacity, and passion for the love of running have truly prevailed.     

Many OT practitioners, including myself, know that when we evaluate or treat a client who has a missing limb, due to trauma, disease, or congenital problems, there is a great psychological component related to the healing process.  Unlike some of the clients I see, Oscar has learned to live with his fate since he was a baby.  But, don't let that sway your judgment on his acceptance and healing process.  He has dealt with learning to walk, adapting the ways he performs his ADLs, seeking out resources to help him walk, acknowledging social stigmas, and finding the true meaning to occupation. 

Check out some of these links to increase your knowledge base of what technology is out there and how to inspire your clients:

http://www.ossur.com/?PageID=3364

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/24712351/

Hi Everyone,

As there are many students preparing for their NBCOT exam as an OT or OTA, many questions arise.  I am an OTR and I work in Chicago.  5 years ago I sat for my NBCOT exam, although it really seems like yesterday-very cliche, I know!  I remember all of the students were anxiously waiting to send their information off to NBCOT and await their ATT (authorization to test letter). 

I went to Spalding University, and the chair of my department at the time was Randy Strickland.  While I was in school he was President of NBCOT.  Having his foresight, he decided to send all of our Academic CredentialsVerification Forms, as a class, at the same time.  Each student needing to take their exam must submit this form.  This form can be sent up to 6 months prior to your expected graduation.  If you send it early, you'll need to submit verification of your curriculum (transcript, official school seal...).  From personal experience, it didn't take long for them to process the paperwork. 

I soon received my ATT letter and the only thing keeping me from taking the exam within a day was finding a testing center with an available date.  The advice I can give you about choosing a date is, try not to rush yourself.  This is an important exam that costs a great deal of money.  I scheduled my exam exactly 6 weeks from the time I graduated, and around 3 weeks from the time I received my ATT letter. 

Study groups are key during your preparation time.  Divide different areas among your classmates to develop study guides.  One person can do early intervention, another psychosocial, and so on.  Meet once a week and go over important terms, maybe quiz each other with made up questions, you can even make up a quick case study and each person from the group can give thier input for intervention ideas, possible performance areas affected... 

Taking practice exams are great to help you understand what it's like when you take your actual exam.  When you take them, simulate a testing environment; store your books, turn off your phone and TV, and zone in on your exam.  If you fail, you are probably like most of the OT population.  I probably failed all of my practice exams.  No worries, I passed my Registered exam the first time!  These tests help bone up your critical thinking skills and show you how to tease out the distractor answers.  Don't become upset if you fail the practice exam.

And try not to overstudy.  Dedicate a couple of hours each day to studying.  Try not to consume yourself.  Your brain needs time to process everything and rest is a good thing.  The day before your exam, take the day off.  This is hard because you start thinking of all the things that you forgot you didn't study.  Realize that you have the fundamentals and you need the day off. 

Below is a helpful link from NBCOT.  Good luck with taking your exam.  If it's your second time taking it, don't get discouraged.  Go into the testing center with a positive attitude and know you have what it takes to become an exceptional OT practitioner.

Credentials Essential Toolkit from NBCOT: http://www.nbcot.org/webarticles/articlefiles/NBCOT_AOTA_flyer.pdf

NBCOT Study Guide: http://www.nbcot.org/webarticles/anmviewer.asp?a=74&z=15

OT-ADVANTAGE.COM store for board prep pics: http://astore.amazon.com/otadva-20

Best of Luck,

Alison