[Dysphagia] Growing concern

[LOBSTERPAM at aol.com (LOBSTERPAM@aol.com)]

<< aphasia is a diagnostic entity that in most locations SLPs cannot make - as it is a diagnosis. It requires something along the lines of "Thie patient's communication is consistent with a non-fluent aphasia ...."

We can assign a REHAB diagnosis of Aphasia, with its ICD9 code, for reimbursement purposes, but on a report it goes in "impressions" and is not necessarily added to the patient's medical diagnosis list.  Of course, the MD CAN add it if he/she so chooses, but I have not seen this happen too often.

In the same way, we would assign a rehab diagnosis of Dysphagia -- not a medical diagnosis, and it goes in "impressions."  It is a clinical impression based on observed symptoms.

psmith