My Tribute to Kathleen D. Schaum, MS

The marching orders that I had received from my fellow editorial board member Kathleen D. Schaum, MS, prior to our post-conference seminar some years ago were, well, completely indicative of her meticulous approach to education. “What I’d like for you to do is to come up with step-by-step instructions, with all the supplemental materials, and we will put all the information together in a handbook for the attendees,” she had specified. This assignment, to describe exactly how to successfully participate in the Physician Quality Reporting System, would take me many hours to complete. Honestly speaking, I was less than excited about the time-consuming task, but I was honored to have been invited by Kathy to join her for an important session at the annual Symposium on Advanced Wound Care (SAWC). So, I persevered. And by the time I was finished with my assignment, I realized what a brilliant idea it was. The handbook we put together was a unique resource that the physician attendees at the meeting could not obtain anywhere else. We probably could have sold it! And I am also pretty sure Kathy knew from the beginning that the mental exercise would be good for me because it would solidify my own understanding of the details.

This is just one example of the many times over the past several years that Kathy has taught me how to teach. She has also taught me how to write. For instance, I was recently struggling to craft an article about common billing misconceptions pertaining to the hospital-based outpatient wound clinic. Kathy suggested she help me prepare the article in a question-and-answer format, as if she were interviewing me. When I received her modified draft, not only had she made me sound like a reimbursement genius, she had managed to convey all the complex concepts in an understandable and readable way. What a lesson for me! It’s one of Kathy’s gifts as an educator (and as a true reimbursement genius) — her ability to abstract away the complex details in order to make complicated information “simple.”

As a physician, I rely so much on her that my heart practically stopped when she called a few weeks ago to tell me she had decided to retire. There was a long pause on my end, and then I tried to sound sincere when I said, “Um, congratulations.” In fact, I was frantically thinking, “What are we going to do in this industry without Kathy?” (Deep down, I am such a selfish person!) Then she said, “But, I plan to continue writing my column in Today’s Wound Clinic (TWC), teaching at wound care symposia, and helping wound care professionals and manufacturers through my reimbursement strategy consulting company.” My heart started beating regularly again, and at that point I could be genuinely sincere about the exciting news she had called to share, which included her telling me about the itinerary for the wonderful (and well-deserved) 80-day celebration cruise that she’s currently on with her beloved husband Karl.

For years, Kathy had been commuting between her home in Lake Worth, FL, and the Fort Worth, TX, headquarters of Smith & Nephew (previously Healthpoint Biotherapeutics), where, as a consultant (and eventually an employee) she directed the coding, coverage, and payment initiatives for cellular and/or tissue-based products (CTPs) for skin wounds and disposable negative pressure wound therapy (dNPWT); trained sales representatives and internal staff; and evaluated all new business development, licensing, and acquisition opportunities from the reimbursement/payment perspective. Recognizing the need for reimbursement education during her previous life as a sales representative, Kathy began her consulting firm (Kathleen D. Schaum & Associates Inc.) in 1997. She has also served as medical products reimbursement director for Johnson & Johnson Medical in Arlington, TX (1998-2000). Most people do not know that Kathy participated in the original surgical-dressing workgroup that obtained Medicare coverage for wound dressings used by patients in their homes. I remember when the policy first went into effect. I had opened a wound center in 1990 (prior to the policy), and can remember the days when patients wore paper towels and sanitary napkins as their “dressings.” Today in my current clinic, I (electronically) signed orders for half a dozen patients to have dressings shipped to them from a durable medical equipment company, a Medicare benefit these patients have thanks, in large part, to the workgroup and Kathy Schaum.

Kathy has often worked “behind the scenes” on many key reimbursement policies (eg, wound care, CTPs, debridement, dNPWT) as a respected voice at the headquarters of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. She has applied for and received Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System codes and Current Procedural Terminology codes for more than 300 wound care products and services. She reads and analyzes thousands of pages of reimbursement information each year. Her tireless work with the Alliance of Wound Care Stakeholders and the Coalition of Wound Care Manufacturers has helped us successfully navigate the maze of coding, coverage, and payment to ensure access for our patients. Most people reading this will know Kathy through her monthly Business Briefs columns in TWC and her national Wound Clinic Business seminars, through which she has taught reimbursement workshops for thousands of senior executives and wound care clinicians. Others may know Kathy for her appearances at SAWC and many other national and regional symposia. I am happy to report that her participation in these educational programs is not going to end any time soon.

Kathy Schaum is retiring — sort of. She tells me that she will keep writing for TWC; speaking at SAWC; attending Alliance meetings; and helping wound care professionals, programs, and manufacturers with reimbursement challenges. All of which leads me to ask, “What, then, is she really retiring from?” I think Confucius had the answer to that some 2,500 years ago: “Choose a job that you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” Apparently, that is exactly what Kathy Schaum has done. She’s stopped working full time for a manufacturer, but she’s still doing what she loves — sharing reimbursement information with the wound care industry. Kathy has often said that keeping up with reimbursement would be boring if she could not share that knowledge with her colleagues. Kathy, thank you for your dedication to our field. Come back from your cruise soon, please, because …I have questions about a new local coverage determination.