Re: Let's knock off the crap!
tony barr
Description
Collection
Title:
Re: Let's knock off the crap!
Creator:
tony barr
Date:
6/17/2004
Text:
To most everyone, its of no surprise, that I agree and applaud Mr. Howell's
courage and fortitude to say what needed to be said about his own
colleagues.
It's the apathy described below by Mr. Howell that is most disturbing. No
discussion or outrage on behalf of this group of 3500 professionals? has
taken place of the recent initiated federal investigation of a major
supplier and provider of O&P services. Thisis not the first inevestigation
of this industry. The blinders wont work any longer!
This is not only about an investigation of a company, it's a investigation
of your credability and professional ethics.
There is an expression often used to identify some things, use it or lose
it
For this industry, to be even have a remote opportunity of ever becoming
recognized as a legitimate health care profession,each one of you going to
have to develop it, support it or you'll lose it.
To do anything less will not only take you down but the millions of
handicapped people that require and deserve compotent O&P services as well.
Shame on you,
Tony
-----Original Message-----
From: Orthotics and Prosthetics List [mailto:<Email Address Redacted>] On
Behalf Of Greg Howell
Sent: Thursday, June 17, 2004 3:15 PM
To: <Email Address Redacted>
Subject: [OANDP-L] Let's knock off the crap!
After reading the posting by, Mr. Ralph Nobbe CPO I find it necessary to
help clearly identify what I feel is the major crisis in our industry and
stop blaming it on everyone else!
We are industry composed of approximately 3500 practitioners and we serve a
population of approximate 3 million amputees per year. Yet we are not able
to stand together as healthcare professionals but continue to cut each
other throats on a daily basis. Third-party payors are in hog heaven with
our industry is that we have been so greedy and territorial that we not
have not paid attention to properly organizing and demanding we be treated
as healthcare professionals. We and our associations have allowed our
elected officials to classify us as vendors. Have you ever wondered why
the VA treat just the same as the vendor who delivers little Debbie snack
cakes to their facility, that is not the way they treat their physicians,
therapists, or any other healthcare related profession. So why do we
tolerate this? Why do we not demand to be treated as a healthcare
professional, to be paid for office visits, consultations, and travel time
to see patients in nursing homes hospitals or homebound? When and is this
going to stop. I can tell you this will not stop unless each and every
practitioner in this industry gets involved personally, and stop to bitchin
about it.
I have had the opportunity through various workers compensation insurance
carriers to review claims for them for orthotics in prosthetics for
approximately five year's I am amazed but not surprised to see patients
still in the hospital, 14 days postop, and the prosthetists is requesting a
C-leg authorization for $75,000. Too many people in our industry have
raped and pillaged, and we are now paying the price for that, we have not
policed our own field and everybody has just been fighting for themselves
and among themselves, and it is about time that we backed off on a masters
degree programs, the ultra high tech prosthetics, and the high tech
orthotics and get back to the basics,(we can refocus on these issues after
we reestablish a sound foundation) we will dye on the vine(we may already be
dead), and am not sure that we can even be saved at this point. Unless we
go back to our basics , and reorganize ourselves to invest in our futures
stop the turf wars, the interprofessional fighting, and demand that the
organizations which we pay dues to represent our industry's are accountable
with a focused goal on getting our profession reclassified as a healthcare
professional instead of a vendor we will live day by day and be ripped
apart piece by piece like a patient with metastatic cancer.
I therefore challenge our profession to stop the creative billing, which I
have seen thousands in doing these reviews, stop focusing on seeing how
much you can squeeze out of a payor and focus at least 10% of your time on
trying to change our classification from a DME vendor to healthcare
professional. Get paid fairly for the work that we do, spend the time
necessary with each patient to make them feel important and special, and
let's All get back to a profession that we can enjoy it on a regular basis
not just caring for the patient but the entire profession we are in.
I apologize if I've offended anybody as this is not my attention I have
made several postings with regard to this issue and I am surprised at the
amount
of apathy which exists. If you just take a look at the way that the
lawyers
in this country(which I have no love for, and I blame them for being the
major contributor destroying the ethics of this country), but they have
banded together in a way where are in control of their destiny.
Please comment to the server , as I feel is necessary for all to get
involved .
Respectfully .
Greg Howell CPO
courage and fortitude to say what needed to be said about his own
colleagues.
It's the apathy described below by Mr. Howell that is most disturbing. No
discussion or outrage on behalf of this group of 3500 professionals? has
taken place of the recent initiated federal investigation of a major
supplier and provider of O&P services. Thisis not the first inevestigation
of this industry. The blinders wont work any longer!
This is not only about an investigation of a company, it's a investigation
of your credability and professional ethics.
There is an expression often used to identify some things, use it or lose
it
For this industry, to be even have a remote opportunity of ever becoming
recognized as a legitimate health care profession,each one of you going to
have to develop it, support it or you'll lose it.
To do anything less will not only take you down but the millions of
handicapped people that require and deserve compotent O&P services as well.
Shame on you,
Tony
-----Original Message-----
From: Orthotics and Prosthetics List [mailto:<Email Address Redacted>] On
Behalf Of Greg Howell
Sent: Thursday, June 17, 2004 3:15 PM
To: <Email Address Redacted>
Subject: [OANDP-L] Let's knock off the crap!
After reading the posting by, Mr. Ralph Nobbe CPO I find it necessary to
help clearly identify what I feel is the major crisis in our industry and
stop blaming it on everyone else!
We are industry composed of approximately 3500 practitioners and we serve a
population of approximate 3 million amputees per year. Yet we are not able
to stand together as healthcare professionals but continue to cut each
other throats on a daily basis. Third-party payors are in hog heaven with
our industry is that we have been so greedy and territorial that we not
have not paid attention to properly organizing and demanding we be treated
as healthcare professionals. We and our associations have allowed our
elected officials to classify us as vendors. Have you ever wondered why
the VA treat just the same as the vendor who delivers little Debbie snack
cakes to their facility, that is not the way they treat their physicians,
therapists, or any other healthcare related profession. So why do we
tolerate this? Why do we not demand to be treated as a healthcare
professional, to be paid for office visits, consultations, and travel time
to see patients in nursing homes hospitals or homebound? When and is this
going to stop. I can tell you this will not stop unless each and every
practitioner in this industry gets involved personally, and stop to bitchin
about it.
I have had the opportunity through various workers compensation insurance
carriers to review claims for them for orthotics in prosthetics for
approximately five year's I am amazed but not surprised to see patients
still in the hospital, 14 days postop, and the prosthetists is requesting a
C-leg authorization for $75,000. Too many people in our industry have
raped and pillaged, and we are now paying the price for that, we have not
policed our own field and everybody has just been fighting for themselves
and among themselves, and it is about time that we backed off on a masters
degree programs, the ultra high tech prosthetics, and the high tech
orthotics and get back to the basics,(we can refocus on these issues after
we reestablish a sound foundation) we will dye on the vine(we may already be
dead), and am not sure that we can even be saved at this point. Unless we
go back to our basics , and reorganize ourselves to invest in our futures
stop the turf wars, the interprofessional fighting, and demand that the
organizations which we pay dues to represent our industry's are accountable
with a focused goal on getting our profession reclassified as a healthcare
professional instead of a vendor we will live day by day and be ripped
apart piece by piece like a patient with metastatic cancer.
I therefore challenge our profession to stop the creative billing, which I
have seen thousands in doing these reviews, stop focusing on seeing how
much you can squeeze out of a payor and focus at least 10% of your time on
trying to change our classification from a DME vendor to healthcare
professional. Get paid fairly for the work that we do, spend the time
necessary with each patient to make them feel important and special, and
let's All get back to a profession that we can enjoy it on a regular basis
not just caring for the patient but the entire profession we are in.
I apologize if I've offended anybody as this is not my attention I have
made several postings with regard to this issue and I am surprised at the
amount
of apathy which exists. If you just take a look at the way that the
lawyers
in this country(which I have no love for, and I blame them for being the
major contributor destroying the ethics of this country), but they have
banded together in a way where are in control of their destiny.
Please comment to the server , as I feel is necessary for all to get
involved .
Respectfully .
Greg Howell CPO
Citation
tony barr, “Re: Let's knock off the crap!,” Digital Resource Foundation for Orthotics and Prosthetics, accessed November 6, 2024, https://library.drfop.org/items/show/223220.
