RESOURCES & DISCIPLINES Bring This Course to You!
Dysphagia is increasingly becoming a focal point in medical malpractice cases.
This rise in litigation is driven by advancements in research, diagnosis, and treatment. To protect both patients and providers, CMS has implemented specific regulations regarding the care and documentation required for services reimbursed by Medicare. ASHA's code of ethics and scope of practice further set the bar for clinician competence in dysphagia management.
Despite dysphagia making up about 60% of a speech pathologist's caseload, many SLPs report having minimal academic training in this critical area, with some completing less than a semester of coursework or lacking hands-on experience in their graduate clinicals. This course will delve into the key issues of dysphagia litigation, provide strategies for supervision and clinician proficiency, and emphasize standard practices of care. We'll also cover red flags in documentation and work through real-world scenarios to sharpen your problem-solving skills.
Course Requirements:Denise Dougherty, MA, CCC-SLP
Denise owns and operates a private practice in Indiana, PA, where she conducts therapy with both children and adults. She is a legal consultant/expert witness in wrongful death/negligence lawsuits involving dysphagia. Denise is a co-editor of Private Practice Essentials: A Practical Guide for Speech-Language Pathologists, published by ASHA Press. She has presented workshops and written numerous articles appearing in the ASHA Leader on the topic of private practice. Denise served as a consultant for The Arijah Children’s Foundation in Anguilla, BWI, providing evaluations and therapy programs for special needs children. Ms. Dougherty was an adjunct faculty member at York College of Pennsylvania and Wesley College in Dover, Delaware. She is a past President of the American Academy of Private Practice in Speech Pathology and Audiology (AAPPSPA), and received the Academy’s 2007 Honor Award and 2014 Award of Excellence for her achievements. Ms. Dougherty is a member of the Technical Experts Panel for Quality of Insights of Pennsylvania, working on initiating quality measures for CMS to improve effectiveness, efficiency, economy and quality of services delivered to Medicare beneficiaries. She received her bachelor’s degree in communication disorders from Marywood University in Scranton, Pennsylvania; a master’s degree in communication disorders from St. Louis University. Ms. Dougherty is certified in VitalStim® therapy and is a VitalStim® instructor, has completed additional training in orofacial myology, is a member of the American Speech, Language and Hearing Association and has received numerous ASHA ACE Awards. For more information, please visit www.dldspeechpath.com.
Financial Disclosure Denise receives honoraria from CIAO for the presentation of her live courses and royalties for the sale of her online courses. Denise is in private practice and receives legal consultant/expert witness fees
Non-Financial Disclosure: There are no non-financial relationships to disclose.
Introductory Level
0.3 ASHA CEUs
CIAO Automatically reports to CE Broker for Florida Occupational and Physical Therapists and Assistants. Florida SLPs can either use the ASHA CE Participant Form (Bubble Sheet) or self-submit through CE Broker.
CIAO is recognized on the NBCOT Provider Registry (meets PDU requirements for NBCOT)
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