Page 31 - OPTA Access March 2018

partisan climate in Washington. We nally have obtained majority support for permanent repeal of the Medicare Therapy Cap in the House and the Senate Tens of thousands of members emailed, called, or visited their legislators this year and it has made a difference in gaining co-sponsors and support However, Congress still has not attached this bill to any measure bringing it to a vote on the oor. Due to this delay, the therapy cap exceptions process has expired as of me writing this piece, and there is no use of KX modi er to allow for payments beyond the cap This is huge for our patients and families struggling with complex conditions APTA and partner groups such as AOTA and ASHA, are working hard lobbying for this legislation to be included in the spending bill being debated in Congress Today, the government is shut down because of inability to come to agreement on the bill My hope is by the time of publication, therapy cap will be repealed permanently If not, we need your help! Email, call, visit your legislators and tell them why this is so important for patients You can make a difference!
This year, I will keep ghting for therapy cap repeal, inclusion of PTs in the National Health Services Corps, the Sports Medicine Licensure Clarity Act, and payment policies that are sustainable and make sense for both therapists and our patients I am here to assist you in any Advocacy efforts and provide you resources to be successful
For more information, contact David at:
davidwessells@hotmail com
Ethics Committee Report
Lisa Kohler, PT – Chair
I am so excited to share that the Ethics Committee, which includes Truly Moore and Jill Dubbs, is busy working on another continuing education program for the Annual Conference, titled,
“As the world gets smaller, do ethical
dilemmas get bigger?” The world is
getting smaller due to new clinical and
communication technologies, which is
causing different ethical dilemmas We
are going to discuss this as it relates to con dentiality, privacy, security and consent while using telehealth, social networking and the electronic medical record
We plan to include a lot of interaction, and you would not believe some of the crazy things that have happened with social media as one example Just as a little preview – there was a report of a nurse in the UK who posted a picture of herself “sleeping” next to a baby in the hospital on Facebook Come to the session on Friday, April 13 at 1:15 p.m. to nd out what happened three days later!
We also are hoping to grow with two more committee members! We are planning to use social media for different ethical scenarios we have gathered over the years, primarily from Truly Moore’s presentations Stay tuned and please participate, since we plan to make that interactive as well
For more information, contact Lisa at: lkohler@cinci rr com
OPT-PAC Report
Heather Schradin, PT, DPT, CIDN, Chair
2017 was an eventful year for the OPT Political Action Committee (PAC)-- your PAC dollars were vital in helping promote the legislative and political interests of the physical therapy profession in Ohio
We nearly reached our goal of $10,000,
with a total of $9,000 in contributions
Moving forward into the new year
we are set to raise the bar Our new goal for 2018 is to raise $25,000 for the PAC Although a lofty number, we have rolled out a new app through our partnership with MobileCause
This app will allow members donate easily through texting and other options In addition, it will allow us to communicate with members in real time to secure PAC donations effortlessly Other goals include at least a $10 donation from each member and one PAC event in each district
The OPT-PAC contributes to the campaigns of Ohio legislators who listen, understand and vote in favor of supporting the continued advancement of the physical therapy profession
I cannot stress enough the importance of donating to the PAC—it is a great way to advocate for your profession Your donation can have positive change that bene ts us as physical therapists, and every dollar counts! Each dollar you give carries far greater weight than if you contributed on your own Our goal is to achieve maximum results from limited dollars!
Through our collective efforts on the legislative front, we were successful in defeating board consolidation in 2017, and will continue to advocate for Sub HB 131 to modify the laws governing the practice of physical therapy to allow PTs to diagnose and order imaging
I am excited for this year and look forward to the challenge of raising more money to be used to advance our profession and make our voices heard I look forward to seeing everyone at our annual PACy hour during the OPTA Annual Conference!
For more information, contact Heather at: hschradin@yahoo com
OPTA | March 2018 | 31
Committee and SIG Reports