CLEAR News - Spring 2002

CLEAR Updates


Good Bye San Antonio - Hello Las Vegas
The 2001 Annual Meeting Rescheduled in San Antonio proved to be an enormous success with a great turnout, outstanding programs, and the superb location. At the meeting, the Publications and Communication Subcommittee suggested a couple of changes to make CLEAR more accessible and to better advertise the content of the annual meeting. The Members Only Section of the web site was eliminated. The entire area is now dismantled and incorporated into other places on the web site. And staff was directed to gather as many presentations from the annual conference in electronic format and put them on the web site to better show visitors the content of the meeting. Those presentations may be viewed at http://www.clearhq.org/2001_conference_session_material.htm

Also, available are some photos of the participating exhibitors at the meeting that may be viewed at www.clearhq.org/thanks_exhibitors.htm

The 2002 Annual Conference is scheduled for September 12-14 at Bally's Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada. The rooms are $110 for a single or double. The Program Co-Chairs Rosemary McCool, Faye Lemon, and Linda Waters are putting the finishing touches on the conference flyer that will be mailed soon. It will also be made available online. In the meantime, enjoy some photos of the January conference at http://www.clearhq.org/jan_2001_pics.htm


2002 Awards Program
CLEAR is now accepting nominations for its 2002 awards program. Nomination forms and additional information about the five awards CLEAR presents can be found on our web site at http://www.clearhq.org/awardsmain.htm. Please remember the deadline for the 2002 awards program is May 15, 2002. Should you have any questions, please contact Adam Parfitt via e-mail at aparfitt@clearhq.org or by phone at (859) 269-1503.


Job Listings
Job postings of interest to the regulatory community can now be found at http://www.clearhq.org/job_vacancies.htm. To submit information about a vacancy, please contact Adam Parfitt via e-mail at aparfitt@clearhq.org or by phone at (859) 269-1503.


Interested in Sponsoring an NCIT?
Sponsoring an offering of the National Certified Investigator/Inspector Training (NCIT) program is easy. If your agency (or a group of agencies) can guarantee 60 attendees for a Basic Program, or 30 attendees for a Specialized Program, that's all it takes. In fact, even if you don't have quite that many people to guarantee CLEAR staff can work with you to locate attendees from other places in order to make up the necessary number. The form for prospective hosts is online (http://www.clearhq.org/NCIT_Hosting_Form.htm). Alternatively, you can contact CLEAR staff at (859) 269-1503.

View the most current schedule and register for training by visiting http://www.clearhq.org/ncitofferings.htm


CLEAR Exam Review
The Winter 2002 issue of CLEAR Exam Review will soon be in the mail. One copy is sent out as a membership benefit to each member of record, but for many of you who don't see it on a regular basis, this journal is still one of CLEAR's best-kept secrets. Some agencies carry individual memberships for their staff and board members, which at $30 per year for both issues, is a bargain. For information visit www.clearhq.org/cer.htm


Online Payments Accepted
CLEAR is pleased to accept payment online via PayPal (www.paypal.com). It is now possible to pay for membership subscriptions, training and conference registrations, as well as for publications available on CLEAR's web site www.clearhq.org


CLEAR Resource Briefs
Now that Resource Briefs is published initially online, solicitations for papers is ongoing. Guidelines for submissions may be found at http://www.clearhq.org/RB_Guidelines.htm

Article Update
The case reported in the Winter 2001 issue of CLEAR News between the College of Audiologists and Speech Language Therapists (CASLPO) et. al. and the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care has been dismissed. (See article at www.clearhq.org/winter_2001_newsletter.htm)

The court decision included the following points:

"The evidence does not establish that any patient will be deprived of a medically necessary diagnostic hearing test within a reasonable period of time as a result of the changes(.)" made by the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care in billing under the provisions of the Ontario Health Insurance Program.

"Persons with hearing problems must go through a physician to access diagnostic hearing tests; in this respect they are no different from patients who need a prescription to obtain pharmacological services, a requisition from a physician to get laboratory tests, or a referral from a family physician to see a specialist."

" While there is no evidence that hearing impaired persons will be deprived of medically necessary hearing tests, the Applicants cannot insist that the business relationship between physicians and audiologists be structured in a particular way."

"The concern by the government that it may have been paying for unnecessary diagnostic hearing tests is a legitimate one. Requiring physicians to assess medical necessity is one means whereby the long term financial sustainability of the publicly funded health insurance plan can be maintained."

"The health care system is vast and complex. A court should be cautious about characterizing structural changes to OHIP, which do not shut out vulnerable persons as discriminatory, given the institutional impediments to design of a health care system."

For further information please contact CASLPO at caslpo@caslpo.com 416-975-5347 or visit their web site at www.caslpo.com or the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care at 416-327-4377 or their web site www.gov.on.ca/health/index.html

- Have you joined yet? 

Associated Regulatory Investigators (ARI) is a new online association for those involved with regulatory investigations. Click here for more information.

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