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Impact of laryngologist and speech pathologist coassessment on outcomes and billing revenue
Author(s) -
Litts Juliana K.,
GartnerSchmidt Jackie L.,
Clary Matthew S.,
Gillespie Amanda I.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
the laryngoscope
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.181
H-Index - 148
eISSN - 1531-4995
pISSN - 0023-852X
DOI - 10.1002/lary.25349
Subject(s) - voice therapy , medicine , attendance , medical record , speech therapy , physical therapy , audiology , economics , economic growth
Objectives/Hypothesis This study investigated financial and treatment implications of a speech‐language pathologist (SLP) performing a voice evaluation at the initial laryngologic visit. Study Design Retrospective chart review. Methods Medical records from 75 consecutive adult voice therapy patients during a 3‐month period were categorized into two groups: group 1 (n = 37) represented patients who underwent a medical speech evaluation (MSE) at the initial voice assessment with the laryngologist (+SLP), and group 2 (n = 38) represented patients who did not receive an MSE (−SLP). Data collected included age, gender, voice diagnosis, number of therapy sessions attended and cancelled, reason for discharge, and pre– and post–voice therapy Voice Handicap Index‐10 (VHI‐10) scores. Results Patients in the +SLP group had fewer cancellations ( P = 0.001), greater change in VHI‐10 from pre‐ to post‐therapy ( P = .001), and were more likely to be discharged from therapy having met therapeutic goals ( P = .007) than patients in the −SLP group. In addition, lost revenue over 3 months due to cancellations/no‐shows was $2,260 in the +SLP group compared to $7,030 in the −SLP group ( P < .001). Conclusions Concurrent voice evaluation by an SLP and laryngologist at initial diagnostic visit affects therapy attendance, voice therapy outcomes, and ultimately SLP and departmental billing revenue. Results may be due to more appropriate therapy referrals from SLP assessment of patients in conjunction with a laryngologist. Level of Evidence 4 Laryngoscope , 125:2139–2142, 2015