Wentworth-Douglass Hospital

Wentworth-Douglass Hospital

To Whom It May Concern,

Diabetes Services Department at Wentworth-Douglass Hospital retained Mary Ann Hodorowicz in January 2004 for the purpose of increasing productivity in our outpatient department while ensuring adherance to Medicare and American Diabetes Association standards. We are a certified diabetes outpatient department and found her information invaluable. Professionals in attendance at her seminar were RNs, RDs, office staff, coding personnel, and our financial analyst. Topics covered were: Medicare billing present and future, MNT program, DSMT program, RD options, specific billing codes andreimbursement patterns, diabetes and non-dialysis renal MNT, coordination of the DSMT adn MNT benefit, mandatory and optional documentation, and marketing strategies.

While we were able to increase referrals for the dietitians in our department we also increased RN visits as well by trying different strategies Mary Ann suggested. The forms she provided for documentation were very useful. Though we did not utilize all the forms we adapted the informatino in most to fit our needs. We have been able to provide physician's offices and their staff with inservices and realized how much education these offices really needed concerning the DSMT and MNT benefit. We adapted our referral form for ease of use by providers and to encourage them to order all that a patient is entitled to. At the end of June 2004 this department has shown an increase in outpatient visits of 57% compared to the same time period in 2003. We have begun successfully billing for a service were were not utilizing previously due to a lack of understanding. It is unlikely that we would of begun billing for this service had it not been for Mary Ann.

Mary Ann is a captivating speaker and strives to make her seminars enjoyable and totally interactive. She is also very flexible and discussed topics we had not previously asked her to prepare. Everyone in attendance felt comfortable and at ease. We highly recommend Mary Ann for any consulting regarding diabetes or nutrition services.

Sincerely,

Christine Hammill RN, MSN
Nursing Director

Sandy Sheeran RN
Clinical Coordinator