Archive for podiatry
Medicare Billing for Patients with Two Different Shoe Sizes
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Question:
A patient needs to have two different sized shoes–one 13, and one 14. I will be charged extra for this and wonder how I’m to pass this charge on. Can I bill the patient?
Answer:
Additional cost incurred by fitting (I assume Medicare) patient with two different size shoes cannot be passed onto patient (assuming that you accept assignment). If you do not accept Medicare assignment you can charge patient whatever you want such that increased cost is borne by patient. Less significant differences in foot size (especially in width) can sometime be accommodated with the same size shoe by removing spacers from the larger foot and adding spacers to the smaller foot. Alternative, if size is significant enough is to cast patient for custom molded shoes.
Josh White, DPM, CPed
joshwhite@safestep.net
New Foot Ulcer Treatment Under Scrutiny from FDA
Posted by: | CommentsHere’s something I found that I thought is interesting and thought you would want to see this news.
Sanuwave, maker of the dermaPACE diabetic foot ulcer treatment, received a letter from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), asking the company to run another clinical trial of its wave-based product. According to the FDA, the initial run failed to meet its primary endpoint.
Using extra-corporeal shock wave technology, Sanuwave’s product is unique to the marketplace, but requires more testing, according to the FDA. According to a press release, the data shows the wound closure did indeed succeed, after additional time of 24 weeks.
To see the whole story about Sanuwave, take a look at the entire article here:
http://www.massdevice.com/news/fda-wants-another-dermapace-study-sanuwave
Have you heard of this technology and would you consider adding it to your practice?
Wasteful Healthcare Spending Revealed
Posted by: | CommentsHealthcare spending isn’t as effective as it could be, but more details have come to light. The outgoing Director of Centers for Medicare & Medical Services (CMS), Dr. Donald M. Berwick, revealed his exit interview with revealing stats on healthcare spending. He points out 20 – 30 percent of spending is wasteful.
The five reasons he gives are:
- Patient over treatment
- Fraud
- Rules
- Coordination of care failure
- Too much complexity of administrative procedures
Berwick goes on to include strategies that can help this spending and shave off an estimated $3.6 trillion of wasteful practices, including:
- Education
- Improve systems for care coordination
- Promote health care culture
- Support quality improvement initiatives
- Simplify processes to reduce fraud
To read the entire article on OpenMarkets Health, find it here:
http://blog.openmarketshealth.com/Blog/bid/109452/Being-Truthful-About-Wasteful-Healthcare-Spending
How would you help reduce wasteful healthcare spending?
Foot Pain and Ballet Injuries
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Ballet is an art form, but it’s also an athletic endeavor that’s prone to injuries. Just like a football player or basketball player, ballet dancers live with foot pain and that pain can turn into an injury.
To a ballet dancer, their feet are the way they practice their craft – if they don’t work, they don’t perform. From very young ages, most ballet dancers undergo extensive training and perform in numerous productions. These types of conditions can lead to minor and sometimes major foot injury.
Here’s a good article on the subject I thought you would enjoy reading, from Podiatry Today:
http://www.podiatrytoday.com/article/1616
Do you treat ballet performers? What are some of the most common injuries you see?
Photo credit: delainahaslam
5 Resources For Podiatry Professionals
Posted by: | CommentsHere on our blog, we try to give you relevant information you can use in your own practice. Sometimes, older articles can go unnoticed and you may miss some powerful content that’s right under your nose.
To help with this, here are 5 previous posts we’ve posted here for your reading enjoyment:
- Keys to Success: Know Your Number
- CMS Posts Version 5010 Fact Sheet
- A Tutorial On the Moore Balance Brace
- Understanding and Treating Fall Prevention in Aging Patients
- PQRS Data Shows Gains in Key Quality Indicators
High Fashion Shoes and How It Helps Podiatrists
Posted by: | CommentsFashion is big business and that includes shoes. It also gives podiatrists ample employment opportunities.
Recent fashion showings in New York and Paris revealed some highly fashionable shoe styles. Heels and other styles in every color and fabric combination, these shows had them all.
With all these “hip and in-style” shoes, many models didn’t wear the shoes until they were ready to go on stage. Why? They look great, but don’t fit the bill for comfort.
Although these shoes are appealing to the eyes and come in a wide array of styles, I believe they will also help keep podiatrists gainfully employed.
To see a recap of the shoe styles and colors, watch this video from the New York Times:
