Re: Fw: [OANDP-L] O&P Profession and the Patient Defeated at Neg Reg

Re: Fw: [OANDP-L] O&P Profession and the Patient Defeated at Neg Reg

Justin Foster

7/21/2003

Thank you for the updates Tony, it does seem there are some strange dealings
surrounding this process...

I do wish to comment on the labelling of P&O care recipients as consumers.
I feel that the title of consumer lends a certain power that patient
does not. As a patient, you are under the supervisory care of a health care
provider, and are being cared FOR. As a consumer, you are making active
choices about your course, and which road you will be taking. I am on the
fence about this issue, and certainly welcome debate, however I would like
to see our patients enjoy the same power as consumers in other industries,
the power to get up and walk out on poor quality work without having to pay
for it!!! It seems to me that O&P professionals should work WITH
patients/consumers/clients, not in OUR interpretation of their best
interests. I do not think this is unique to O&P, it may in fact be endemic
to all medical and para-medical practice. If medicine is becoming a business
(has it always been???), let's empower our patients to function as the
consumer, thereby requiring all medical professionals to ensure positive
outcomes, or lose the revenue. As long as people are kept under the thumb of
a patient label, they are treated as commodities and have less say in
their own care. I think finding and using the proper language is important
to good prosthetic and orthotic outcomes. If it becomes clear that the term
Patient is required for Medicare et al to recognize our service, I will
certainly adjust my stance accordingly! Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Justin Foster
Prosthetist/Orthotist


>From: Anthony T. Barr < <Email Address Redacted> >
>Reply-To: <Email Address Redacted>
>To: <Email Address Redacted>
>Subject: [OANDP-L] Fw: [OANDP-L] O&P Profession and the Patient Defeated
> at Neg Reg
>Date: Sat, 19 Jul 2003 14:03:33 -0400
>


>In hopes of raising the level of importance to the delivery of qualified
>comprehensive O&P services.
>Please,during this effort to come to resolution, don't minimize the
>importance of the health care delivery system by identifying recipients of
>comprehensive O&P services, as consumers.
>
>Let us refrain from using the word consumer as to the end users of
>comprehensive qualified prosthetic and orthotic devices to further support
>state and federal O&P regulation and resolving CMS's dilemma of
>recommending a acceptable proposed rule.
>Tony
>

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