Handy-dandy dysphagia scoring tools
https://www.thickenupclear.com/eat-10 is a great VALIDATED questionnaire to screen new admits…at this link it’s available online and here is a link to the PDF as well…https://www.dysphagia-diet.com/Images/EatingAssessmentTool_2013.pdf
I’ve used it even as interview questions for family members in cases where the resident can’t easily communicate and I’m trying to determine if a resident’s dysphagia has oral, pharyngeal and/or esophageal components. It helps support our reason for evaluation and treatment in cases where an obvious supporting medial diagnosis may be lacking.
While we’re all NOM-ed out and G-coded beyond reason, we often overlook other scores that may be useful in showing changes over time like the Functional Oral Intake Scale…http://media.ciaoseminars.com/pdfs/cms/fois_scale.pdf
Another useful interview tool for those with esophageal complaints is the Reflux Symptom Index http://www.enttoday.org/wp-content/uploads/springboard/image/2006_08_26.gif
Keep showing that evidence! It makes Medicare happy and hey, they foot the bill.
HAPPY NATIONAL DYSPHAGIA AWARENESS MONTH!
Food 4 Thought 