When you’ve handled Veterans with VA advantages, both via Zeel or elsewhere, you’ve in all probability heard of an RFS, which is brief for “request for service”—the time period used to request approval for extra lined remedies from the VA.
As a therapist within the Zeel supplier community, you could have to submit an RFS for a Veteran who would profit from extra remedies. Luckily, the Zeel Supplier App makes it straightforward and seamless! Right here’s every little thing it’s good to learn about submitting an RFS for therapeutic massage.
What’s an RFS?
Veterans with a referral for therapeutic massage remedy are prescribed a selected variety of periods in a set window of time. If a Veteran has accomplished all allowed remedies in a referral and the supplier believes she or he would proceed to enhance with additional periods (or if the unique referral has expired), the supplier can submit a Request for Service, or RFS.
Zeel doesn’t make the ultimate dedication as as to if or not an RFS is authorized, and approval shouldn’t be assured. We go the request to the Veteran’s VA care group, who makes the ultimate choice. Nonetheless, we will present steerage to make sure that there’s sufficient scientific data supplied.
Why Submit an RFS?
A request for extra companies could also be indicated for any of the next causes:
- You consider based mostly in your scientific judgment that the Veteran is making important progress in direction of their restoration targets, and extra time is required to satisfy them
- Common therapeutic massage remedy is supporting the Veteran’s high quality of life and permitting them to finish every day actions, self-care, and leisure and work actions
- Common therapeutic massage helps to scale back the consumption of ache medicines
Medical Rationale
When submitting an RFS, it’s your accountability to doc all related scientific data with a view to show how your therapy has improved the Veteran’s ache stage, goal deficits, mobility and performance. It is important to show practical outcomes which were achieved since initiating therapy. Lack of scientific data is extra prone to end in a denial of the RFS.
It isn’t sufficient to simply state “I’m requesting an RFS with a view to cut back ache and enhance mobility.” The data supplied must be:
- Measurable
- Express in its demonstration of practical enchancment and/or discount in use of ache remedy
- Distinctive to the affected person
Finishing an RFS: What You’ll Must Know
Part 1: Progress Made to Date
On this part, you need to describe the progress the Veteran has made in direction of the targets set throughout his or her preliminary analysis. Once more, the data must be measurable and show how their operate is being improved.
Listed here are some examples:
- Ache scales and practical final result scores: Affected person’s decrease again ache has improved from 8/10 to 4/10 on the ache scale.
- Goal limitations/enhancements: Affected person’s lumbar comfortable tissue pressure has improved from extreme to average on the left facet and from extreme to gentle on the precise facet.
- Useful limitations/enhancements: Ache discount and decreased comfortable tissue pressure has helped permit the affected person to sleep for five consecutive hours since initiating therapeutic massage remedy.
- Ache medicines: Affected person reviews a discount in ache remedy and solely requires it on heavy work days.
Part 2: Causes for Extra Periods
Describe why and the way the affected person would profit from extra periods, citing the precise targets and practical enhancements the affected person is working in direction of.
Listed here are some examples:
- Ache scales and practical final result scores: Imagine affected person’s decrease again ache can enhance to 2/10 on the ache scale with 6 extra therapeutic massage remedies
- Goal limitations/enhancements: Affected person’s lumbar comfortable tissue pressure will be lowered to gentle on each side with extra remedies specializing in the left facet
- Useful limitations/enhancements: Lower decrease again ache and enhance lumbar mobility to permit the affected person to stroll 10 blocks ache free
- Ache medicines: The affected person has reported a discount in ache remedy, taking it solely on work days. Objective is to scale back ache medicines to solely PRN or when wanted.
You Are Your Affected person’s Advocate
When you observe a Veteran making measurable progress with medical therapeutic massage, you need to really feel assured submitting an RFS to allow them to proceed to enhance. Take into accout, nonetheless, that RFS approval shouldn’t be assured, and you shouldn’t give a Veteran in your care the impression that it’s.
RFS approval practices, such because the variety of RFS’s authorized for a single referral, differ from VAMC to VAMC, so you need to at all times be sure to assist the Veteran get absolutely the most profit they will from the 12 periods included within the preliminary referral.