Why Mobile?
For many years, patients from long-term care facilities have been transported to a hospital to have a Modified Barium Swallow Study (MBSS) completed to diagnose potential dysphagia. Transportation and long waits can now be eliminated with the use of a mobile modified barium swallow study clinic. DiagnosTEX operates mobile medical clinics offering an alternative to transporting a patient to an outpatient, free-standing facility such as a hospital. A mobile videofluoroscopy clinic used for an MBSS assesses swallowing disorders in a private and controlled environment limiting disorientation and fatigue of medical transportation and clinical appointments.
The philosophy behind the mobile MBSS is that the overall results of the test are more representative of a patient’s swallow function since they are in their personal wheelchair allowing for the accommodation of most special populations. The equipment in the mobile unit is designed specifically for this procedure making the evaluation more accommodating to the residents, unlike the equipment in the hospital, which is designed for numerous other diagnostic procedures and is unable to accommodate a wheelchair (Polansky & Baumgartner, 1999).
Adequate space allows for facility staff and family to observe the evaluation without risk of radiation exposure. Such functional evaluations are unable to be completed at a hospital location.
Hospital costs for an MBSS, or an esophogram, are double or triple the cost of a dysphagia evaluation at DiagnosTEX. Transportation alone to the hospital from other care facilities can range from $150-$550 (appx. $13.50 per mile, with additional costs). Let us come to you and save you money!
The MBSS team includes an ASHA (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association) certified, dysphagia trained, speech pathologist, a licensed medical physician, and a trained technologist. The mobile clinic has a permanently installed a fluoroscopy unit and is customized with a wheelchair lift to allow easy access for patients in wheelchairs. DiagnosTEX parks in the facility parking lot, close to the front entrance, so the patient can be wheeled out to the clinic using their personal wheelchair.