Will Medicare pay for my TENS unit and supplies?
Medicare pays for the rental, purchase and supplies for your TENS unit. Their policy is to pay for a 30 day evaluation period and if during that period the unit is beneficial then Medicare purchases the unit. As long as you are obtaining benefit from the use of the unit Medicare will pay for one of two kits per month for the supplies you need. A prescription is required from your physician.
Does MedFaxx file my insurance for me?
Yes Medfaxx files your primary insurance and after payment by the insurance company will bill you for any amount still owed, if any.
What insurance policies pay for Tens units and supplies?
Basically all insurance companies pay for TENS as long as it is prescribed by a physician. This includes worker's compensation, private insurance such as Blue Cross/Shield, HMO's, PPO's, and in many states Medicaid. Of course with the multitude of insurance policies we can not give you a definite answer until we know your policy and company. By requesting a "Free Trial" we will follow up for you and find out if you have coverage or not.
Is continual use of a TENS unit addictive?
No.
One of the problems encountered in the medical field of pain relief is sometimes a patient is told to only use the TENS unit for one hour then off. That is not correct. The TENS unit is used when you have pain whether it is sitting down, trying to get to sleep at nite, or exercising such as golfing, aerobics etc. If you turn the unit off and your pain returns then turn it back on. The unit can be used 24/7. The longest term study ever done on duration of tens usage was done by Duke Medical Center on 5,000 patients. The results showed that many patients used their units 24 hours daily for weeks then tapered off usage to only when pain became very difficult. Usage 5 years out from the time they received the unit may be only a weekend per month etc.
When should one not use a TENS unit?
If you have had a "demand" type pacemaker implanted, then do not use. Pregnant women should not use or any person who has not been evaluated by a physician to determine if there is an underlying physiologic cause for the pain being experienced.
Will Medicare pay for my Infrex unit?
The Infrex Plus unit is designed for chronic pain and has a tens mode also. It is covered by Medicare as well as most major insurance companies.
Will Medicare pay for topical pain relievers, pain patches, skin creams?
Yes Medicare will pay for those products associated with chronic pain when an Infrex or tens has been purchased by them. The policy is to cover those medical issues ( skin irritation, sleeplessness, topical pain issues that are relieved by products such as Tiger Balm, BioFreeze, Arnica, Flexall 454 etc.) that often evolve from using electrotheapy devices such as a tens or Infrex. The products can be mixed and matched monthly or kit by kit as the patient desires and based upon the needs.
"Electrical Fields" on the body is something I've heard about but the professionals say it doesn't exist. Is that true or not?
There are electrical fields around each person's body and these fields are created by your body. The simple way to prove this is to simply use an "ohm" meter, available from Radio Shack, electrical supply stores, etc, and the electrical resistance on one's body varies constantly. In particular with chronic pain patients there is a detectable, quantifiable change in areas of pain, before and after, using electrical stimulation in the painful area.
Are "trigger" and 'acupuncture" points the same points?
No. Acupuncture points are defined by anatomical location using a standard "CUN" measurement which is specific to the patient's body size. Trigger points are locations which show defining electrical characteristics. It is not unusual though for the terms to be used interchangeably and clincially can produce positive results when used with electrical stimulation.
Can pain relief gels/lotions be used with TENS for prolonged relief ?
Yes. It actually may be beneficial to use them in conjunction with the TENS unit. The TENS unit can increase the blood flow to the painful area and the absorption of the gel may be enhanced by giving better penetration and pain relief from the gel. The "carryover" effect of using TENS is enhanced with the use of topical gels. Carryover is the amount of time one has after using a TENS unit before the pain returns and the patient is uncomfortbable again.
Is the ultraviolet rays from the V-254 the same as those from the sun?
Yes they are, but our atmosphere filters out the range we use, C-range, and does not allow it to reach the earth's surface. The harmful rays from the sun that cause skin damage are the A & B range.
Has any bacteria ever been able to adapt or mutate in any manner whatsoever to develop an immunity to the V-254?
No. Unlike the use of drugs where the bacteria actually can mutate and develop into a far more deadly drug resistant form, no bacterium has ever been able to develop resistance to UV-C rays.
Can electrical stimulation help open wounds heal and bones that will not reattach?
Yes. Most of the studies were done on wounds with a form of stimulation called pulsed galvanic stim. There was one report on the use of TENS for decubitus ulcers. Electrical stimulation can be very helpful for diabetic patients who have open wounds occur on their feet and legs. For bones, the current is generally a micro current or the use of the electrical field created by a circumduction coil.
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Does MedFaxx have any Blogs?
Yes for chronic pain and electrotherapy or for V-254 Ultraviolet and Wound Care.
Below from blog postings
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Wound Healing Using Electricity
How Infrex Unit works video is about the principles of interferential therapy versus what is called TENS therapy. This video is about pain but similar type devices are used to accelerate wound healing. There have been some reports of tens units being used for accelerated healing rates.
Generally speaking electrotherapy is not used to destroy pathogens/bacteria. That is best accomplished by the use of 254 nanometer ultraviolet light the V-254 Wound Lamp emits.
In the wound healing arena the type device used is generally what is called a "pulsed galvanic stimulator" ( aka high voltage, PGS, ). The distinction with a PGS/HV stimulator is the stimulator emits a series of direct current polarities, ie. positive or negative charges. It is generally acknowledged that when the wound "plateaus" or ceases to continue to heal at a rapid rate, then the polarity of the tissues has reversed and by now switching the underlying tissue polarity back then the healing rate is increased. All of this is going on on the cellular level and some of the clinical work is duplicative of what one finds when we discuss healing non-union fractures with electricity.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Stop Reinfection of Wounds/Bedsores
One issue with patients with chronic wounds, in many cases, is the wound itself is not chronic but a normal healing wound and is either consistently reinjured or reinfected. This is especially so with patients who are incontinent and have wounds below their waist.
A very simple method to prevent reinfection from feces or urinary incontinency is to always expose the skin/bed materials to 254 nanometer ultraviolet when changing dressing or as a routine precaution. It takes only 2 minutes or so but one wound simply wave the V-254 Wound Lamp over the patient's skin and the bed linens to kill any bacteria that was present around the wound itself. This is done after exposing the contaminated wound to the V-254 lamp for approximately 60 seconds.
The V-254 is FDA approved for pathogen irradication on intact skin. The migratory process can be stopped by killing the pathogens so there is nothing to migrate, thus no reinfection which hampers the normal healing processes.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Thanks for visiting
This blog is intended to educate on the use of ultraviolet light to accelerate wound repair and also eradication of pathogens on the skin and in the wound bed.
Our posts are intended to educate, not persuade, and also to dismiss the many factual errors that are prevalent when one discusses the use of ultraviolet energy for health purposes. One of the most abused myths is that ultraviolet in the 254 nanometer range is a carcinogenic agent. It is not. On higher wavelengths it is but not on the shorwave energy we discuss.
Also there is no none pathogens that has ever been able to mutate as a result of exposure to shortwave UV energy. 254 nanonmeter UV waves do not allow the further advancement of bacteria, such as MRSA or VRE, which is causing so many problems today due to their ability to mutate and adapt to the latest in antibiotics.
Hope you find this blog interesting,informative and you will add your knowledge to this body of science. Our web site.
Thanks.
Monday, December 3, 2007
V-254: Hot or Cold Quartz?
Neither.
This is a term used prior to the advent of superior lighting technology using fluoresecent bulbs.
Historically the state of art was to use what was referred to as a "hot/cold quartz" lamp for producing ultraviolet energy in the 254 nanometer range. The "hot" vs. "cold" discussion was about waiting for the lamp to get "hot" which meant a time period before maximum efficiency of emission of ultraviolet energy occurred. During the "cold" period it was advised to not treat the patient as not enough UV energy was coming out of the unit. When it reached it's "hot" period, generally 1 - 2 minutes after turning on, then the physical therapist( UV PT)would begin treatment of the patient's wounds.
The V-254 uses mercury vapor bulbs and there is not a "warm up period" and treatment begins as soon as the lamp is turned on.
For an explanation of how the mercury produces the energy go to:
http://howthingswork.virginia.edu/page1.php?QNum=516
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Is Ultraviolet Energy Carcinogenic?
The answer to that question depends upon one not making a broad generalization. One must first describe what type ultraviolet is being referred to. Basically the UV spectrum is divided into 3 types, A ( 350 nm ) - B ( 300 nm) - C ( 250 nm) rays.
The first two types, A + B, have been proven to be carcinogenic in that with extended exposure the cumulative effect can be to create a carcinogenic response. On UV-C, the null hypothesis was established when the researchers tried to create a carcinogenic response. UV-C is not a carcinogenic agent.
A sure give away when one looks at acquiring UV equipment for wound care is to look at the treatment protocol. If the unit promoted has descriptions of treatment such as extending the treatment time each day or application that is generally a give away that the unit is not a lamp emitting C range but either A or B range. This type unit is not FDA approved, nor warranted for use as a wound lamp. The reason for the increasing treatment times is the body is responding to the longer UV wave lengths and trying to protect itself from the cancer producing rays.
The shorter 254 rays lack the ability to penetrate and are not the harmful rays one associates with the term "ultraviolet".
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
V-254 UV Wound Lamp & VRE/MRSA Systemic Infections
One generally unknown about the use of the V-254 Ultraviolet Wound Lamp from MedFaxx, Inc. is how can one rid the body of MRSA/VRE when there is a systemic infection, rather than a localized infection.
Fortunately due to the colonization characteristics of bacteria what is going on with a systemic infection is the bacteria is colonized in the visible wound area to some bacterial count ( culture to find out ). The V-254 Ultraviolet rays then destroy the bacteria that is present on the wound surface, ( Correct procedure would be to then apply pressure after the initial treatment and express the bacteria below the wound bed surface onto the surface for the second 60 second treatment).
We do not have any reliable studies on how soon the bacteria then recolonizes in the wound bed but it appears this may be a 3-4 hour process, however historical frequency of treatment has been to treat approximately 3x weekly. Procedure is not based upon scientific study but probably upon clinical work loads.
As the wound bed is exposed to the V-254 the bacteria colonizes into the treatment area and each treatment is reducing the body's bacterial load. The overall goal is reduction of the total bacterial count until the immune system can then take over and restore healthy wound repair and modeling.
It's similar to having to drain a 16 ounce bottle but your drainage cup has only a 1 ounce capacity. You have to do the process 16 times before the bottle is completely drained but by repeated draining you accomplish the task at hand.
We know that infections are a retardant to successful wound repair.
