Our corporate headquarters in Oklahoma City has been making it a tradition to participate in the INTEGRIS Jim Thorpe Courage Run each year. This year's race was held on Saturday, May 5, 2012 at Lake Hefner in Oklahoma City, OK. The 5K, 10K, 1 mile fun run, and wheelchair events give the community an opportunity to raise money to provide patients at Jim Thorpe Rehabilitation benefits that traditional reimbursement does not cover.

Last week 180 Medical participated in the Spina Bifida Association of Northeastern New York's Second Regional SBANENY Conference entitled "Expanding Your Horizons through Healthy Living" in Albany, New York. This conference gave adults, teenagers, and professionals an opportunity to learn about new and different opportunities available for them and their loved ones for healthy living including exercises, nutritional information, urology, and much more. Vendors and service providers were also available at the event for the attendees to talk to.

The keynote address "Healthy Living with Spina Bifida" by Dr. Dorothy Nary. Dr. Nary is a research associate at the Research and Training Center on Independent Living. Her research focused on health and independent living issues of people with disabilities. 

Other sessions included:

• Neurosurgical Updates for Individuals Living with Spina Bifida by Dr. Matthew Adamo
• Promoting Inclusion for Children with SB: Strategies for Parents & Caregivers by Evelyn Loeb, LCSW-R
• Fitness Training for Individuals with Spina Bifida by Ned Norton
• Urological Care for Children by Karla Giramonti, MS FNP
• Managing Your Medical Life by Dr. Dorothy Nary & Barb Devore
• Adaptive Self Defense by Tim Lee
• Nutritional Information for Individuals with Spina Bifida by Linda Crowley, MS, RD, CDN
• Yoga Fun for Kids Ages 5 to 12 & Their Parents by Noreen Santa Maria
• Recreation Opportunities for Teens & Adults: Camping by Don White, Sled Hockey by Bryan Darby, Tennis by Eva Galvin, Kayaking by Barbara Devore, and Sailing by Y-Knott

The Spina Bifida Association of Northeastern New York is an active chapter of the Spina Bifida Association holding many events each year including picnics, Walk-N-Rolls, retreats, and promoting the wonderful opportunities the national association is making available.

180 Medical is a proud sponsor of many spina bifida events across the country. We will be participating at the National Spina Bifida Conference in Indianapolis, IN in June so if you are attending be sure to stop by our booth!
     

DO...
1.     Always thoroughly wash your hands and/or put on gloves before and after performing self-catheterization.
2.     Stay on the self-catheterization schedule that your health professional instructed you to follow. If you miss your scheduled time, catheterize as soon as you're able to do so.
3.     Make sure you are using the right catheter product for your needs. Hydrophilic and closed system catheter kits are usually worth sampling to see if they work for you.
4.     Keep hydrated. Drinking plenty of liquids improves the flow of urine through the kidneys.
5.     Create a sterile environment. Insertion supplies may help make the procedure as sterile as possible and help prevent infections.
6.     Make sure you are using your catheters correctly. Follow instructions given by your health professional or follow supplemental self-catheterization instructions.
7.     Ask your catheter supplier if your insurance plan covers your catheter supplies. We cover thousands of plans and offer free shipping, free samples, free catheter consultations, and free insurance billing. Sure beats trips to the pharmacy!

DON'T…
1.     Don't reuse catheters. Studies show that sterile use (using a catheter one time and disposing of it) may reduce urinary tract infections. Most major insurance companies cover sterile use because reusing catheters often leads to infections, which can cause insurance companies more money.
2.     Don't forget to burst a water packet when using hydrophilic catheters. Bursting the water packet activates the hydrophilic properties of the catheter.
3.     Don't worry - after learning to self-catheterize correctly and a few days of practice you will be a pro and it will just be a part of life.
4.     Don't forget to bring your catheter supplies with you wherever you go.
        

180 Medical happily works with your insurance for any supplies that you receive from us, and we handle all of the work for you. Filing claims and processing payment is, however, a multi-step process that our billing department sees through to the end. In case you’re curious, let’s do a run down of what we do to bill your insurance.  

One week after your monthly supplies have been shipped, we send a claim to your primary insurance. After we receive payment from your primary insurance, we immediately send a claim to your secondary insurance, attaching information showing what was paid by your primary insurance. Insurance companies generally take about thirty days to process a claim and issue a payment to our office. When all insurances have been billed and have paid us, we send a statement to you showing your out-of-pocket balance due to us (which is sometimes nothing!).  

To show payments, your insurance company will issue and explanation of benefits both to our office and also to you. This explanation of benefits, or EOB, shows the amount allowed by your insurance company for payment, how much has been applied toward your deductible or coinsurance (your out of pocket costs), and any payment that has been issued to us.  

Every once in a while, your insurance may deny payment for any number of reasons: the service is not covered under your plan, a yearly benefit maximum has been reached, or a minor clerical error. Our billing department works diligently to correct these issues as soon as they occur. Because insurance companies take so long to process claims, you may receive a bill before your insurance company corrects the error, but rest assured that we are already working hard to resolve the issue.  

If you ever feel you have received a bill in error—or maybe just need a little clarification about your explanations of benefits or how your insurance paid—please do not hesitate to contact us. Our billing department is standing by to assist you and answer any questions you may have.
   

The Great Prostate Cancer Challenge is an opportunity to help with the fight against prostate cancer. They are hosting 32 events across the country to help raise awareness and funds to provide research and free testing.

Through ZERO's Drive Against Prostate Cancer program and local screening programs hosted by large urology group practice partners, the Great Prostate Cancer Challenge has provided free testing for more than 2,500 men.

Many of the large urology partners that are supporting Dash for Dad work with us at 180 Medical to supply catheter products to their patients. We are proud to be able to help support these events including the Dash for Dad Chicago in June. View the walk/run lists below to find an event in your area and consider participating to help fight prostate cancer.

More 2012 Dash for Dad Events

 Alabama  |  Arizona  |  California  |  DC  |  Florida  |  Georgia  |  Illinois  |  Indiana  |  Kansas  |  Oklahoma  |  Louisiana  |  Minnesota  |  New Jersey  |  New Mexico  |  New York  |  Ohio  |  Pennsylvania  |  Tennessee  |  Texas

Alabama
Birmingham - September 15 (Urology Centers of Alabama)

Arizona
Tucson - December 2 (Arizona Institute of Urology) 

California
South Bay - June 16

DC
Washington, DC - June 17 

Florida
Fort Lauderdale - September 15 

Georgia
Atlanta - June 16

Illinois 
Chicago - June 2 (Advanced Urology Associates)
DashForDad.com/races/Chicago 


Indiana
Fort Wayne - October 13 (Northeast Indiana Urology)

Kansas
Kansas City - September 16 (Kansas City Urology Care)

Oklahoma 
Oklahoma City - September 8 (Urology Centers of Oklahoma)

Louisiana
Shreveport - June 17 

Minnesota
Minneapolis - September 22 
St. Cloud - September 15 (Adult & Pediatric Urology)

New Jersey
Camden - September 22

New Mexico
Albuquerque - May 12 (Advanced Urology of New Mexico) 

New York
Buffalo - June 17 (Western New York Urology Associates)
Rochester - May 28

Ohio
Cincinnati - September 8 (The Urology Group)
Columbus - September 9 (Central Ohio Urology Group)

Pennsylvania
Harrisburg - September 28 (Urology of Central Pennsylvania)
Lancaster - August 25 (Urological Associates of Lancaster)

Tennessee
Knoxville - September 29 (Tennessee Urology Associates, PLLC)
Memphis - April 28 (Conrad Pearson Clinic)
Nashville - June 16 (Urology Associates)

Texas
Austin - October 27 (Urology Austin)
Dallas - September 22 (Urology Associates of North Texas)