by Michaela Coon

Cochlear Americas First Annual Service Report

August 20, 2020

We’re proud to introduce Cochlear Americas’ First Annual Service Report.

For almost 40 years, Cochlear has been bringing people all over the globe into a world of sound. During that time, we have brought innovation in both our technology and our supporting services. Cochlear Care is a portfolio of services built on feedback and designed to keep our patients and our professional partners’ needs in mind.

Our innovative and personalized service offering covers the entire professional and patient journey inclusive of education, insurance support, technical support, community connection and hearing therapy. Cochlear has pioneered web, portal and cloud-based services for hearing implant recipients that are now accessible 24/7 and personalized to the patient or clinic. We value and utilize feedback to evolve as an organization and continuously develop services to meet the needs of our partners.

In this report, we illustrate how our portfolio of services keeps our mission at the heart of all we do. The report does not include every service that Cochlear offers but rather, highlights services that support the patient journey, the professional experience and the services that connect patients and professionals virtually.

For more information, read the Service Report here.

hand troubleshooting Nucleus sound processor

6 Cochlear services you can use from anywhere

April 1, 2020

Troubleshooting website for patients

Empower patients with convenient answers to device support questions and step-by-step troubleshooting with this new online resource.

Hearing therapy resources for patients

Hearing rehabilitation may be an important component for successful hearing outcomes. Clinicians are instrumental in getting patients motivated and equipped with the appropriate training resources to improve listening skills and communication strategies to drive desired outcomes. Resources included:

Bring Back the Beat:

The Bring Back the Beat app is designed to help adult cochlear implant recipients reconnect with music through a self-managed, game-based practice tool that facilitates music appreciation and pitch perception. Users can monitor their own progress as they advance through the various levels.

Hearing therapy resource webinar:

With increased time at home, your patients could benefit from the various available hearing therapy tools. This webinar, Utilizing Cochlear’s Hearing Therapy Resources as a Clinic Differentiator, displays a myriad of patient-dependent options.

Adult Home-Based Hearing Therapy Manuals

A clinician’s version of the Adult Home-Based Hearing Therapy Manuals provides a guide for assessing and establishing an appropriate training plan level for newly activated CI patients, helping to better manage time spent on training of auditory skills within the clinic.

The accompanying recipient manual includes a Hearing Therapy Exercise Plan, which can be completed by the clinician and the recipient for in-home training use.

ProCare

ProCare consists of a team of dedicated professionals working to answer your service questions.

Get in touch with them at: ProCare@Cochlear.com

myCochlearClinic

myCochlearClinic is a secure portal providing personalized resources to support clinicians. This one-stop shop allows access to patients’ information, equipment, warranties and the ability to obtain service on this online site. Education, marketing and product information is also available.

Cochlear Link

Cochlear™ Link is a secure, cloud-based system that automatically and securely registers patients’ equipment directly from Custom Sound®. This eliminates the need to enter serial numbers manually along with patient registration details during the initial activation appointment. Additionally, if a patient calls Cochlear for service and requires a replacement sound processor, patients will get a replacement the next business day. This means clinicians receive fewer emails requesting MAPs and patients get back on air faster.

SignHear

SignHEAR, powered by DocuSign® delivers an improved Letter of Medical Necessity (LMN) and reimbursement documentation request process that makes it easier for you to sign documents electronically from almost anywhere.

To learn more about our services please subscribe to Cochlear ProNews.

Coding Support Services

July 30, 2020

By Joan Sunderland – Senior Manager, Regional Reimbursement

Healthcare professionals often describe CPT coding as of one of the most confounding things to navigate in order to obtain insurance payment for their services. Questions often include a variation of the following:

What codes should be included in a cochlear implant or bone conduction implant prior authorization request?
What is the code for the initial fitting and MAPping of a bone conduction sound processor?
What modifier(s) may be appropriate to append when multiple audiological services are performed during the same patient encounter?

In response to the need for a more comprehensive resource, Cochlear has established a Coding Support team. Just as Cochlear innovates and offers new products to support individuals with hearing loss, we offer a range of related resources to support professionals who may have coding-related questions. We recognize that providers are required to use their independent clinical judgment to render services, and the Coding Support team strives to provide timely and up-to-date coverage and reimbursement information to support patient access to Cochlear technology.

In addition to the Coding Support team, providers can access Otologic Management Services (OMS), which assists with surgical prior authorizations and appeals management related to Cochlear products, as well as a field-based team of health economics and reimbursement experts who focus on supporting practices as they expand services to include hearing implants.

As the global leader in implantable hearing solutions, Cochlear embraces the responsibility of providing a lifetime of support for professionals and recipients.

To contact the Cochlear Coding Support Area, please call 800-587-6910 or email your questions to codingsupport@cochlear.com.

CPT and CPT material are copyrights of American Medical Association (AMA): CPT copyright 2020 American Medical Association, all rights reserved. CPT is a registered trademark of the American Medical Association. Information is provided as guidelines only to address the unique nature of implantable hearing solutions technology. This information does not constitute reimbursement or legal advice. Cochlear Americas makes no representation or warranty regarding this information or its completeness, accuracy, fitness for any purpose, timeliness, or that following these guidelines will result in any form of coverage or reimbursement from any insurance company or federal health care program payer. The information presented herein is subject to change at any time. This information cannot and does not contemplate all situations that a health care professional may encounter. To be sure that you have the most current and applicable information available for your unique circumstances, please consult your own experts and seek your own legal advice regarding your reimbursement and coding needs and the proper implementation of these guidelines. All products should be used according to their labeling. In all cases, services billed must be medically necessary, actually performed, and appropriately documented in the medical record.