Cost Savings, Care, and
Convenience
Your physician has prescribed a long-term EEG test for you or a family member, which may sound a little scary. Not to worry, as EEGs are painless and can be conducted in the comfort of your home. NeuLine Health is here to guide you through the process, from benefits verification to scheduling your appointment and preparing for the test. Read on to learn what to expect before, during and after your test.
Ambulatory (in-home) EEG Testing:
Patient Preparation
In an effort to make your ambulatory EEG test run smoothly, please follow the “Dos” and “Don’ts” listed below:
Do:
- Take a shower or bath the day before your scheduled appointment.
- Shampoo your hair — clean and dry hair is best.
- Wear a button-down, zippered or wide-neck shirt during testing. This can help protect the EEG wires when changing clothes.
- Freshen up with a sponge bath as needed.
- Take any/all routine medications as normal.
- Choose a room (or two) that you are willing to stay in for the majority of the time.
- Stay in front of the camera as long as possible.
- Plug the amplifier (red, metallic device) into a wall outlet for 3 to 4 hours each day.
Don’t:
- No hair products (e.g., spray, mousse, gel, conditioner).
- No gum chewing during the study (it will interfere with the testing data).
- No physical activity that causes sweating (it will loosen the EEG wires).
- No showers or baths.
- Do not place any electrical devices (e.g., headphones, electric blankets) on the EEG wires.
- Do not close the laptop.
- Do not unplug the laptop.
The Testing
Process
Your healthcare provider identifies you as a candidate for EEG testing.
NeuLine receives your medical documents and insurance information.
NeuLine verifies your insurance coverage.
NeuLine will contact you to:
- Explain why your healthcare provider ordered the test.
- Schedule your appointment for testing.
A technologist will contact you 24 hours prior to your scheduled appointment to confirm.
The technologist will set you up for testing:
- He or she will cover the “Dos”
and “Don’ts” of testing. - The appointment will take approximately 60—90 minutes.
For the next 72 hours, NeuLine will record your brain activity, and video is recorded to capture your daily activity.
The technologist will arrive at the end of the 72-hour period to retrieve the equipment.
A board-certified neurologist will review your test and write a report.
Test results are sent to your healthcare provider for follow-up.
BENEFITS OF EARLY DETECTION
Your physician has referred you to NeuLine Health for an at-home electroencephalogram, or ambulatory EEG test. EEG tests can help detect a number of conditions including Alzheimer’s, dementia, epilepsy, Parkinson’s, post-traumatic stress syndrome and traumatic brain injury.
For many conditions, the sooner treatment begins, the better the prognosis for the patient. The European Brain Council, for example, reports that up to 70% of people with epilepsy could become seizure free with timely and appropriate interventions.
The ambulatory EEG test is conducted within the comfort of your home and is less expensive than an in-patient test at a hospital or Epilepsy Monitoring Unit. Coordinating time off from work or child care can cost money and force us to choose between work and health. While it will be necessary for you to stay at home during the EEG test, we at NeuLine Health believe the cost of a procedure should never be a barrier to getting quality care. If you have concerns about NeuLine Health’s fees, please contact us to discuss how we may be able to help.
A member of our Support Team will call you within 48 hours to schedule your appointment. Missed appointments are missed opportunities to identify conditions where early detection could help you maintain a higher quality of life for a longer period of time. If your symptoms worsen, an at-home EEG test may no longer be an option for you, resulting in a lengthy and costly hospital stay. Please make every effort to schedule your EEG test for the soonest available time and keep your appointment.
The European Brain Council lists examples of diseases for which early detection may be highly consequential.
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Schizophrenia has a “high success rate [of treatment] …if early identification of patients at risk, early detection of psychotic symptoms, and early interventions at the prodromal phase are enabled.”
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The management of Alzheimer’s disease will be impacted “in several dimensions” by “the availability of biological markers for early disease screening and diagnosis.”
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As stroke and dementia are among the “leading causes of severe adult disability,” prevention and early detection are of the utmost importance in improving outcomes. Early use of interventions due to early detection have been highly successful in “reducing disability and mortality from ischemic stroke.”
Insurance
NeuLine accepts both in-network and out-of-network insurance benefits. Financial assistance programs are available for patients who do not have insurance or who may have difficulty meeting their obligations within their coverage. Medicare and Tricare are both accepted and approved. Most Medicaid plans are accepted, with coverage varying by state.
Patient Billing
As a Medicare-approved AEEG provider, NeuLine adheres to the following Centers for Medicare/Medicaid Services (CMS) patient billing guidelines:
On the order form, please list all contact numbers for the patient under the Patient Demographics section. Be sure to select the 72-HR Length of Monitoring box in the Order section of the order form.
Make sure that the ordering provider has signed his or her name in the Ordering Healthcare Provider section.
Provide a copy of the front and back of the patient’s insurance card (or patient demographics face sheet).
We encourage patients to contact our office directly to discuss their insurance coverage or explanation of benefits so that we can provide answers to their questions.