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RCPs help lung disease patients breathe Most people take breathing for granted. It’s second nature, an involuntary reflex.  But for thousands of Americans who suffer from lung disease, each breath is a major accomplishment.  They are people with chronic lung problems such as asthma, emphysema, and cystic fibrosis. And they include heart disease and accident victims, premature infants, cancer victims and others who experience respiratory problems. Many of them will receive treatment from a respiratory care practitioner under the direction of a physician.  Respiratory care practitioners (RCPs) evaluate and treat patients with breathing disorders. They perform procedures that are both diagnostic and therapeutic. They work in hospitals, rehab facilities, long term care facilities, clinics, physician’s offices, home care and medical equipment supply companies.  In 1998 federal budget cost-cutting measures eliminated reimbursement for RCPs in skilled nursing facilities (SNF). Medically complex patients are no longer cared for in these facilities, thus increasing costs for acute care facilities to care for these patients.  This year, in a comparison of Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) data, researchers found that Medicare beneficiaries who were treated by an RCP during their initial stay in an SNF had a 42 percent lower mortality rate at their next Medicare encounter than a similar group of beneficiaries. The same data points to a shortened length of stay by 3.6 days when Medicare beneficiaries receive respiratory care by RCPs in a SNF. This study also confirms RCPs saved the Medicare system approximately $98 million dollars in 1996.  The American Association for Respiratory Care is diligently working through legislative efforts to have reimbursement in skilled nursing facilities reinstated.  RCPs at the MUSC Medical Center are also very active in cutting costs to patients and payors. Through various protocols developed in conjunction with interdisciplinary teams, therapists help physicians determine appropriate therapy and assess the efficacy of the ordered therapy. Assessment protocols are used to determine the best type of therapy and most appropriate frequency of therapy.  Ventilator weaning protocols help reduce the length of stay on life support and in intensive care units. MUSC therapists work with patients at long term acute care facilities such as Specialty Hospital of South Carolina, located in Charleston Memorial Hospital. Oct. 3 through 9 is National Respiratory Care Week. This week is sponsored by the American Association for Respiratory Care, the national professional association for respiratory care practitioners.  At the MUSC Medical Center approximately 100 respiratory care practitioners work in general acute care, pulmonary rehabilitation, pulmonary function labs, intensive care units, and ambulatory care.