Offcall Columbus Spotlight: Theresa Chambers

Theresa Chambers

Offcall's referral tool and network is live in Columbus! Any clinician in Columbus can learn more and download the app now to start sending and receiving referrals today. We'll be rolling out city by city soon. Everyone else can sign and share our Fixing Referrals open letter to show your support and bring Offcall to your city sooner.

As part of our mission to lift up Columbus clinicians, each week we feature a different clinician having an incredible impact in the community. This week, meet Theresa Chambers from Elite EMG. Send her a message to connect directly on the Offcall app!

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1. Tell us a little bit about your practice and the types of neurological testing services you provide. We offer nerve conduction studies (NCS) and electromyography (EMG) testing at several locations throughout Columbus and surrounding areas. The nerve conduction study checks for neuropathy as well as a pinched nerve anywhere from the shoulder to the wrist and from the hip to the ankle. The EMG can identify radiculopathy coming from the spine or denervation of the muscle being tested.

2. What’s something people (even other clinicians) often misunderstand about neurological testing? Due to the difficulty in obtaining EMG testing (wait times for a non-surgical patient can be a couple of months), a lot of clinicians have resorted to only referring for MRI instead. The NCS / EMG is different in that it is a live read of the nerve activity in the limb being tested. The MRI shows what the underlying issue is. The NCS / EMG shows which nerves are actually impacted. It can identify the spinal nerve level when radiculopathy is suspected and EMG testing is considered the gold standard for identifying the correct level for spinal pain injections. It also identifies comorbidities, so if there is a patient that has foot pain, for example, they could have radicular pain, tarsal tunnel, or both. If they have both, just treating one or the other won't completely resolve their symptoms. NCS / EMG testing identifies all areas that need to be treated to improve overall patient care.

3. In a perfect world, how would referrals for neuro testing work in Columbus, and what would make your job easier? We have a pdf script that we can send to the office upon request or if the provider prefers, we will have a physical script pad made and drop it off at their office. We accept all major insurances and have cash pay rates.

4. How do you like to keep referring providers in the loop after testing is done? We typically email a link to the reports in a secure dedicated folder for each office but can also fax results once the reports are completed. Our turnaround time for reports is 5 - 7 business days, but we can expedite any report if the office lets us know who it is they need rushed. We are typically able to schedule patients for testing within 3-4 weeks and have multiple testing locations including: Reynoldsburg, Hilliard, Upper Arlington, Marion, Springfield, Dayton, Heath, Cambridge, St. Clairsville.

5. What’s your biggest hope or vision for the future of the Columbus clinician community, especially when it comes to access to neurological services? Our goal is to bring access to nerve testing to the smaller communities and any providers that wouldn't otherwise be able to access testing easily.