Gem #50

"Orthotic Pearls"

This is the first in a series of “Mini-Gems”, taken from the extensive DME and IOD writings by the late Rich Levin, DPM. Thanks to Dr. Ornstein for making them available for us to share with you.

Introduction:  As the health insurance industry in this country continues to change and challenge every practicing podiatrist, it is important to solidify those services which are the hallmark of our profession. Over the past few years we have each experienced steady declines in the reimbursement for invasive procedures and the dropping of coverage for certain non surgical procedures. I have experienced an overall decrease in the private insurances that are covering orthotic therapy for their insured members. It seems that this is one of the first benefits to be deleted from a health insurance plan’s benefits package in a “cost saving” mode. This leaves many of our patients who need orthotics the choice to pay out of pocket for the devices or not have the devices made for them at all. It is up to each practitioner to provide the necessary information for the patient to make an educated decision as to accepting the proposed orthotic therapy.

100%  Satisfaction Guarantee: I make this offer to the patient when I present my treatment plan to them which includes orthotic therapy. This is especially beneficial for patients who must pay out-of -pocket for their custom made orthotics. This immediately helps to relay apprehension that they are spending a sum of money for something they are not quite sure about. I can tell you that in 12 years of offering this guarantee I have had to refund money twice to patients, but because of the offer I have made many more devices then I would have without the guarantee.