Re: Federal Legislation

Re: Federal Legislation

Robert Leaber, CP

Dear List,

There are no clear standards, said former Secretary of State, James Baker
only days after the presidential election. It is because there are no clear
standards for counting votes written in Florida law that we are in this
election mess today. Orthotics and Prosthetics is in a very similar mess.
There are no clear standards for O&P practice and it is hard to change the
standards this late in the game.

When I left Louisiana to attend the University of Washington (excellent O&P
school) my father was concerned that I was entering a profession that was not
recognized as a profession. My father was concerned that anyone off the
street could practice O&P if they wanted to because there were no licensing
requirements. My father was right as usual. The government does not protect
the O&P patient nor the educated practitioner. Therefore, when I decided to
go O&P school I knew that I was getting into an unrecognized, unprotected
profession. I got into the profession because I knew I would love it which I
do.

I believe that the simple reason the applications at the O&P schools have
decreased recently is that the education is not recognized anymore. Why
spend 40,000 dollars to become educated in O&P when you can work for a few
years making 20K or much more a year, experiment on patients and consider
yourself equal to an ABC qualified practitioner. I believe, the O&P field
has more interest than ever which is not seen by the applications. More
people are entering the field by skipping the education requirements
completely. This brings down the field as a whole. Instead of attracting
the brightest to our field we are attracting the unscrupulous. DME suppliers
call me often asking for my services in prosthetics. A few are doing
prosthetics without any formal training at all. There is nothing to stop
them in the state of Louisiana and most of the U.S.

The problem, as we know, is that no clear standards for care were established
early on in the O&P profession. The result has been many competing
organizations forming to deliver O&P care. Louisiana has had a history of
election fraud and abuse. As a result of this we have probably one of the
best voting methods. We have uniform voting booths that do not lend
themselves to voter confusion, undervotes, or overvotes. We need uniform
standards to deem someone qualified in the O&P profession. These standards
should not necessarily be ABC , BOC or PT/OT standards. The standards should
be nonpartisan standards that provide equal protection for all practitioners
who adhere to the standards. This will in turn provide the patients with
assurance that their practitioner is qualified to a uniform standard.
Florida may be behind on voting machines but they sure have it together when
it comes to O&P licensing.

If the changes in the current bills to allow PT's, OT's, and BOC
practitiioners to be deemed qualified without uniform education standards are
passed into law, the O&P schools will become null and void. The pathway for O
&P will become PT and OT school, and BOC certification. PT and OT schools
cannot fit the necessary training into their schedules. Therefore,
unqualified practitioners will be legal to practice. I spent two years in an
O&P B.S. program and all of my classmates felt that even that was not enough
time. There is much to learn in O&P which makes it so interesting. BOC
certification requires less education and therefore less expense. Why go to
an ABC accredited school if you can legally practice for less money? The
changes in the bills will effectively bring down the O&P profession rather
than uplift it. I would rather see no bill passed than one that applies
different standards for different groups of practitioners.

Again, we need uniform standards and equal protection under law for all
patients and practitioners.

Bobby Leaber, CP