FW: [OANDP-L] By the Numbers/Amputee statistics

FW: [OANDP-L] By the Numbers/Amputee statistics

Stephen Blatchford

1/16/2001

Peter, List members

I think that this is a very good question. In the UK as a comparison there
are approximately 60,000 lower and upper limb amputees which equates to an
incidence level of 1 to 1000.

The information that we have been able to find for the USA comes from NCOPE
study by the American Board of Certification in November 1996. From memory
this indicates that there are 1.2 million amputees in America. I haven't
been able to reconcile this difference but I think part of it comes down to
what type of amputees are you counting. For instance when getting to the
60,000 figure in the UK we are not including the following type of amputees:

1. Amputees who do not receive a prosthesis (normally because they are
wheelchair bound or because they have a very short life expectancy after
amputation).
2. Partial foot amputees.
3. Partial finger amputees.

However it is difficult to see how these categories can account for more
than a 100% difference in incidence rather than a 500% difference!

One other area which is also interesting to look at is the number of
practising Prosthetist / Orthotists. In the UK there are about 800 of which
around 200 FTE practice Prosthetics and 600 FTE practice Orthotics.

According to the same NCOPE survey there are 3,078 ABC certified
practitioners in the states - 33% are CPs, 35% are COs and 32% are CPOs. In
addition the AOPA 1999 O&P Business and Salary Survey Report said that 71.3%
of practitioners employed by facilities are ABC certified which would imply
that there are around 4,300 practitioners in total. If we assume that the
CPOs work on prosthetics and orthotics in the same proportion as the split
between COs and CPs then this would give a figure of about 2,080 FTE in
prosthetics and 2,220 FTE in Orthotics. The population of America is
approximately 5 times as large as the UK which means proportionally that
there are twice as many people doing prosthetics in the states compared to
the UK but only two thirds doing orthotics!

While on the same general subject of statistics, I was unable to post a
conclusion to my request for information post last September as only two
people replied which meant that the results were not statistically valid and
it was also not possible to guarantee confidentiality of the information
provided to me.

Stephen Blatchford


-----Original Message-----
From: icrchoc [mailto:<Email Address Redacted>]
Sent: 16 January 2001 05:04
To: <Email Address Redacted>
Subject: Re: [OANDP-L] By the Numbers/Amputee statistics


Dear Tony Barr, List members,

The estimates quoted by the Barr foundation regarding amputee statistics in
the USA comes to me as a surprise.
I have always considered that the highest amputation incident in the world
was in Angola (1 in 350) and second in Cambodia (1 in 400).
The figure quoted by the Barr foundation would put the USA in the Nr 1 spot
(1 in 200). (1.5M amputees in 300M people) This does not sound right, does
it ????

Worldwide, WHO has estimated years ago, that 0.5% of the population would
need a P or O device. The USA should rate lower for Prosthetics only.

Can someone shed some light on this Current Research mentioned and the
direct source of the USA statistics????? (I could not find it on the
websites mentioned)

A correct figure could be a useful indicator to see if the amputee numbers
in a given country and the related national-prosthetic-provision-capacity
has reached a normal level. (If we consider the USA normal.)

Thanks and Regards,

Peter Poetsma








----- Original Message -----
From: Tony Barr < <Email Address Redacted> >
To: < <Email Address Redacted> >
Sent: Sunday, January 14, 2001 11:35 PM
Subject: [OANDP-L] By the Numbers/Amputee statistics


> > USA Amputee Statistics:
>
> > 1) more than 1.5 million Americans, of all ages and of both genders,
have
> > had amputations;
> > 2) every year 156,000 individuals in the United States lose a limb;
> > 3) each month 13,000 individuals lose a limb;
> > 4) each week 2,996 individuals lose a limb;
> > 5) each day 428 individuals lose a limb;
> > 6) becoming an amputee is a lifetime condition, not just a temporary
> > circumstance;
> > 7) prosthetic care can range in cost from $8,000 to more than $70,000
> > depending on the level of care and function of the patient;
> > most insurance policies cover prosthetics with the stipulation of one
> > prosthesis per patient for life;
> > 8) the average prosthesis lasts between three and five years;
> > 9) the general public is unaware of the plight of the amputee community;
> > an increased awareness to the issues faced by the amputee community
> > will also bring about increased awareness for further research
> > 10) Only five (5) states provide any protection of O&P regulation in
this
> > country!
> >
> > Fl, Texas,Washington, Illinois, Ohio
> >
> >
>
>