Pediatric Feeding

What is Contract Mobile FEES?

Fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES) is a dysphagia (swallow) assessment that is considered the “gold standard” of swallow tests. FEES is completed with a small flexible scope passed through the nasal passage and into the pharynx to view the larynx, pharynx, and upper esophageal opening structures via high-quality distal chip technology. Patients are presented with a variety of different liquids and food textures that have been mixed with food coloring to assess the pharyngeal stage of swallow to determine if a person is exhibiting penetration, aspiration, delay in swallow initiation, and/or presence of pharyngeal residue during intake of food that may impact overall health and quality of life. Utilizing Elite for mobile FEES has many benefits for a variety of settings including:

• Evaluation can be completed in the patient’s natural environment.  FEES can be performed on medically complex patients, the patient’s on mechanical ventilation, the patient’s on isolation precautions, morbidly obese patients, and persons with dementia.

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• FEES is more cost-effective and cheaper than sending a patient to a hospital for a VFSS/MBS, as there is far less cost incurred. For example, the average cost of an MBS includes fees for transportation, staff pay, radiology, speech code, barium, etc. Mobile FEES consist of one flat fee with no hidden charges.

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• Convenient! There is no need to wait weeks due to coordinating with hospital schedules. Elite comes to you within 3-4 business days to complete the assessment.

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• There is no radiation exposure during FEES, therefore, no limit on the length of time to completing assessment improving accurate diagnoses. This allows for assessing patients across an entire meal to determine fatigue if applicable. No time limit also allows for treating therapist and assessing therapist to trial compensatory strategies to determine the best treatment.

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• No barium coated food. Patients are assessed on normal tasting food and drinks with no barium-associated side effects.

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• Improving clinical outcomes due to having evidence-based, real view documentation of deficits for formulating a patient-specific treatment plan. This includes consultation/biofeedback, use of compensatory strategies, and appropriate diet recommendations. The treating SLP is an essential part of the assessment.

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• Real-view pictures and thorough documentation supports the medical necessity for speech therapy assessments and intervention to payor sources. This document is provided prior to the Elite SLP leaving the facility. No need to play phone tag attempting to get MBS results!