Event on GOÄ billing – a complete success!
Last Thursday the information event on the topic of “Billing for dizziness patients in the ENT practice” took place. It was a great success!
The billing options for dizziness patients in the ENT practice are often not used optimally. For the billing of private patients, however, the GOÄ (scale of fees for physicians) offers additional possibilities, e.g. the use of analog numbers. We are pleased to have expert Gerda-Marie Wittschier for this event.
After a welcoming speech by EQUIVert managing director Hanno Platz, medical device consultant Anna Grommes introduced the EQUIVert products EQUIMedi and EQUIFit to the participants. EQUIMedi is a mobile posturography system to support the diagnosis of vertigo. EQUIFit is a balance trainer that patients can use to train in their own homes.
Afterwards, GOÄ expert Gerda-Marie Wittschier gave an approximately 60-minute presentation, she explained the possibilities for billing. She showed figures for the billing of the EQUIVert products, but also showed figures that can generally be used in the ENT practice. In addition, she gave some valuable tips and examples from the practice. Last but not least Anna Grommes showed a sample invoice and a possible patient information. Hanno Platz then closed the event with a short summary and said goodbye to the participants.
The EQUIVert team would like to thank Ms. Gerda-Marie Wittschier for her great presentation and the participants!
Would you also like to learn more about the EQUIVert products and their billing options? Then please do not hesitate to contact us and arrange an appointment!
Mail: info@equivert.de
Phone: +49 2247 9219 14
Half-time: Successful start of the EQUIFit test campaign
As expected, the EQUIFit product test got off to a good start. By mid-September, we had received numerous applications for the product test. These were carefully reviewed and the test persons handpicked. They will receive an EQUIFit as well as a diary to fill out. They are then allowed to put the device through its paces for four weeks free of charge. The only condition: their honest opinion.
The goal is to get more feedback from EQUIFit users and learn from their experiences. For example, we have learned that some creative users have adapted the training program to their specific needs with small exercise variations. These are currently being collected and the most promising ones will be compiled in an exercise book.
After the first half of the test campaign, we have already been able to gather a lot of valuable information. The EQUIVert team would like to thank the test persons for their feedback! Many praise the easy handling of the device. The gesture control makes the training easy to perform. The exercise announcements were also easy to understand.
Particularly pleasing: some said that they had already improved in the exercises during the four weeks of testing. After three to four weeks, for example, the symptoms of test person Charlotte W. appeared less frequently. With further training with EQUIFit, chances are good that dizziness could also decrease over time. Last but not least, some remarked that they felt well taken care of by the EQUIVert team. “The team was always available and helpful,” said test subject Dieter B.
In addition to all the positive feedback, there were of course also requests for improvement. These will be carefully examined and implemented as far as possible. Of course, these will be made available to our existing customers later via updates. However, it may still take some time until this is the case, as all feedback is being collected first.
So far, the EQUIVert team can be quite satisfied with the progress of the test campaign. We hope that the second half of the test campaign will bring us and our test persons further new insights and many positive feedbacks. After the end of the campaign, a comprehensive conclusion will be drawn.
READ MOREFirst EQUIMedi devices successfully delivered
Last Wednesday, the EQUIVert team started delivering the first EQUIMedi devices. One device was personally handed over to Dr. Uso Walter for his practice. He is chairman of the board at HNOnet NRW eG, which helped develop the EQUIVert products. “I am delighted to finally hold the finished product in my hands and now be able to use it”, explains Dr. Walter.
Burkhard Heidemann, department head at the Fraunhofer Institute for Microelectronic Circuits and Systems IMS, was also present at the handover. The Fraunhofer IMS and the University of Duisburg also contributed to the development of the EQUIVert products. “As one of the fathers of the EQUIVert idea, I am proud to see the products now on the market. It is a particular concern of mine that patients can be helped with EQUIMedi”, explains Heidemann.
EQUIMedi is the measuring device for medical professionals. Measuring patients yields valid and verifiable data on fluctuation behavior. This can support medical professionals in their diagnosis, for example by enabling conclusions to be drawn about different causes of dizziness. EQUIMedi represents a real alternative to conventional posturography systems. In addition to the mobility and lower price of the device, the range of functions is also greater. Various dynamic and static tests can be performed, while other posturography systems offer the possibility of measurement only with the patient standing still. In addition to various balance tests (e.g. Unterberger pedal test or Romberg test), the switchable biofeedback can also be used to train balance. “We have created a great product after years of development work. Now we can finally start selling it!”, says Hanno Platz, Managing Director of GED mbH.
The EQUIMedi can be purchased in the webshop at shop.equivert.de.
Picture: Hanno Platz, Burkhard Heidemann and Dr. Uso Walter at the handover of EQUIMedi in Duisburg. Photo: EQUIVert
EQUIFit© and EQUIMedi© are now available – EQUIVert© products approved as medical devices
GED Gesellschaft für Elektronik und Design mbH has received the CE approvals as medical devices for the EQUIVert© dizziness therapy devices. In December the sale of EQUIFit© and EQUIMedi© starts, they can be easily purchased via the webshop on www.equivert.de.
EQUIFit© – Your personal dizziness trainer for at home
EQUIFit© is the new, innovative training device for the home. Patients with dizziness symptoms can now comfortably alleviate their symptom of dizziness in short daily exercises and with easy to understand exercise units – without medication and non-invasively. In addition to the practical gesture control, a special feature of the EQUIFit© headset is that the movement measurement takes place in the direct vicinity of the inner ear, where the organ of balance is also located. This allows the vertigo trainer to accurately assess individual balance and ideally guide the patient. Through the headphones, the patient receives instructions for exercises with different difficulty levels: standing with eyes open (1st) and closed (2nd) and walking on the spot with eyes open (3rd) and closed (4th). It is important that EQUIFit© offers the possibility to train exercises with closed eyes. The missing sensory impressions can thus not be compensated via the eyes (optical compensation), but the brain is trained to compensate for disturbances itself. The exercises are each 30 seconds long and the daily training is short and efficient with about 2 x 5 minutes.
Novel dizziness therapy with biofeedback: for more quality of life
Another novelty and revolution on the market of balance products is acoustic biofeedback: the headphones with integrated electronics provide acoustic feedback during each exercise. With this method, EQUIFit© records unconscious movements of the body and displays them with the help of sounds. This allows the patient to react to these unconscious processes: If the patient leans too far in one direction, a sound is heard from that direction as feedback. It only disappears when the patient resumes the balance position. To avoid a fall, EQUIFit© emits a warning sound if the tilt in one direction is too strong. This allows the patient to enjoy a safe workout. If the patient completes an exercise successfully, EQUIFit© guides him to the next exercise and later to a higher training level. In this way, the balance system is individually adapted, continuously trained and improved.
Brilliant cutting-edge technology for research and medicine
Uso Walter, MD, has tested EQUIFit© in his practice. Patients were very satisfied because they could see significant improvements after just a few exercises: their balance improved and dizziness reduced. Dr. med. Walter is a practicing doctor for ear, nose and throat medicine in Duisburg and chairman of the specialist network HNOnet NRW. EQUIFit© can help with many types of vertigo, especially forms of vestibular vertigo. Another breakthrough thanks to EQUIFit©: gait unsteadiness can also be improved, thereby reducing the risk of falls. Through regular training, the patient becomes fitter on his feet as balance, concentration and coordination improve, and as a result the risk of falling decreases.
EQUIMedi© – Efficient dizziness diagnostics for the medical practice
The EQUIMedi© measuring device supports physicians in diagnosing vertigo and determining a form of therapy. It measures the tendency and intensity of vertigo and the accompanying EQUISoft© software displays the results graphically on a computer. In addition, EQUIMedi© can also be used to determine the success of the therapy. For each measurement, the patient performs the same four exercises as with EQUIFit©: standing with eyes open and closed, and walking on the spot with eyes open and closed. The measurement takes place quickly. This offers groundbreaking advantages over currently used diagnostic systems such as posturography: EQUIMedi©, with its unique biofeedback system, enables much more accurate measurement of patients’ vertigo symptoms, making diagnosis easier for the physician. In addition, the devices are much more affordable in comparison.
The EQUIVert© Company
EQUIVert© emerged from a research project of the Fraunhofer Institute for Microelectronic Circuits and Systems IMS together with the University of Duisburg-Essen and the HNOnet NRW eG. The system integration was carried out by GED Gesellschaft für Elektronik und Design mbH, which is certified according to the medical standard ISO 13485. The products are marketed via the EQUIVert© brand. The close and creative cooperation and the intensive research finally resulted in the new unique dizziness therapy with the products EQUIFit© and EQUIMedi©.
Further information at: www.equivert.de
EQUIVert presentation on the Innovation Day of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy
The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Information “(BMWi) invites GED to present its new vertigo training system EQUIVert at the Innovation Day SME.
The traditional exhibition, in which the project partners GED, Fraunhofer IMS and the University of Duisburg-Essen jointly present their innovative biofeedback system for the treatment of vertigo, will mark its 25th anniversary in 2018.
More than 300 innovative small and medium-sized enterprises, research institutions and cooperation networks from all over Germany will meet on the outdoor area of AiF Projekt GmbH in Berlin-Pankow. They will present new products, processes and services whose development has been financially supported by the BMWi.
Further information on the development of EQUIVert can be found here.
Additional information can be found on the website of the AiF Projekt GmbH.
Date: 7. Juni 2018, 10:00 bis 16:00
location: FOpen-Air area of the AiF Projekt GmbH, Tschaikowskistr. 49, 13156 Berlin
Free entry | No previous registration is required
READ MOREEQUIVert awarded the ZENIT Innovation Prize
The winners of the innovation prize, which has been announced for the eighth time by the ZENIT e.V. network, have been announced: NRW Minister of Economic Affairs, Prof. dr. Andreas Pinkwart, patron of the competition in Mülheim an der Ruhr, honored the winner and five other companies. Twenty-two projects with highly interesting competition entries had applied for the innovation prize.
Success through Cooperation
Under the motto “Success through Cooperation”, innovative product and service ideas were sought that were developed in cooperation of a medium-sized company with a university or research institution or between companies. The quality of the submissions was exceptionally high, which is why six projects have been awarded. The laudatory speech in front of more than 100 guests was presented by jury chairman Prof. dr. Oliver Koch from the University of Applied Sciences Ruhr West.
Among the award-winning companies is the GED Gesellschaft für Elektronik und Design mbh, which had applied for the coveted award with EQUIVert.
Awarded for “Success through Cooperation” at the innovation award of the network ZENIT e.V., f.l.t.r. Hanno Square; Prof. Dr. Andreas Pinkwart; Burkhard Heidemann; Prof. Dr. Oliver Koch and Dr.-Ing. Reinhard Viga. © Photo Network ZENIT e.V.
All award-winning companies can look forward to a one-year free membership in the Zenit e.V. network. The ZENIT e.V. network has been supporting small and medium-sized technology-oriented companies and universities in their innovation and internationalization activities since 1984 on behalf of the EU and the federal government. Its bringing together potential partners from business and science.
The competition theme “Innovation through Cooperation” had been chosen to highlight the great potential that can be developed through the cooperation of economic and scientific stakeholders or companies. The “transfer of knowledge and innovation between universities and companies will become more and more a success factor for economic development in Germany in the future” emphasized Prof. Koch in his eulogy.
READ MORE