BoyCott of Otto Bock and other companies that sell direct to patients
Tony Barr
Description
Collection
Title:
BoyCott of Otto Bock and other companies that sell direct to patients
Creator:
Tony Barr
Date:
2/22/2006
Text:
Where does this end? Where is O&P's futures. Jeremy Sprouse
Certification no longer represents qualification.It certainly doesn't have
any accountability.
In my opinion, its become obsolete and is uneffective to determine
credibility and qualification of your profession.
Perhaps NOW that you have the newly formed O&P Alliance, you can prioritize
their strategic planning process for developing the Alliance's legislative
and regulatory objectives to separate providers of O&P and those of DME by
requiring that O&P providers be state and federally regulated in order to
receive reimbursement from Medicare/Medicaid and third party payers/
See below announcement .You all belong to one or more of the four
organizations in the Alliance. That could be a dilemma for many....again
!Paricullary in this groups!
Speak up!
Oh OH NO NOT THAT !! That would mean having to acquire a license, being
subject to accountability and better ensuring provider qualification
,patient protection and salvaging our profession. !!
You will no longer have it both ways and remain in business. It maybe too
late for many.
Tony Barr
Four Major O&P Groups Form Legislative Alliance
Four major orthotic and prosthetic organizations have formed a new,
unprecedented alliance to join together to work on federal and state
government affairs. The American Board for Certification in Orthotics and
Prosthetics (ABC), the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists (the
Academy), the American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association (AOPA), and the
National Association for the Advancement of Orthotics and Prosthetics
(NAAOP) announced the new alliance February 9.
The Orthotic & Prosthetic Alliance, as the new coalition will be known,
marks a new era in both cooperation and coordination among ABC, the Academy,
AOPA, and NAAOP, the organizations said in a joint statement. Together the
four organizations represent a large segment of the orthotics and
prosthetics profession. The unified effort on legislative and regulatory
issues will lead to less duplication in activity among the four groups. All
have an interest in programs, policies, rules and regulations coming from
Congress, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and state
legislatures.
-----Original Message-----
From: Orthotics and Prosthetics List [mailto:<Email Address Redacted>] On
Behalf Of Jeremy Sprouse
Sent: Wednesday, February 22, 2006 10:26 AM
To: <Email Address Redacted>
Subject: Re: [OANDP-L] FW: [OANDP-L] BoyCott of Otto Bock and other
companies that sell direct to patients
Where does this end? Where is O&P's futures.. Besides O&P, my business also
sells rehab and DME equipment. DME companies have been dealing with direct
selling issues for a long time. The difference is the DME manufacturers are
marketing the big chains..Walmart, CVS, and so on and so forth. For example
Wal-Mart use to carry Invacare lift chairs. The exact lift chairs our DME
company sold. However; Walmart sold the chair cheaper than we could buy it.
We voiced our concerns to Invacare about the lift chair issue and they
eventually stopped selling them. I'm sure you have all seen ads on your TV
for The Scooter Store. This company is owned by Pride Mobility, and this is
their means of direct supply. And just like O&P the list goes on and on.
Where does this end?
With competitive bidding and insurance contracts becoming competitive, who
is going to be able to under price and compete with manufacturers? How will
we show our worthiness? What makes certified practitioners more qualified
to fit a device than the people who make it? Are their sales reps less
qualified? It seems like every pharmacy and DME company in my area has sent
someone to Tru-Life's(Camps) or someone else's course for orthotics. Now
they too are Certified Fitters. Does Tru-Life and other companies limit
sales of custom devices to only CO's? The answer is no, everyone and their
brother is selling custom devices. And yet our organizations, both ABC and
BOC have tried to increase memberships with less qualified certifications
such as Certified Fitter programs. And with many custom orthotics being made
from measurements, who is to say they can't read a tape as well as we can?
While I agree that direct sales will hurt O&P, I also see that we are going
to have one heck of time convincing referrals and others that these sales
reps are not qualified, especially since our organizations have made it
easier for anyone to become certified. What comes after Certified
doesn't seem to matter. I keep hearing referrals say they told me they
were certified. Yeah, they are..as fitters. What comes after Certified
seems to go in one ear and out the other.
How can we compete with the companies that sell to us? We have to
buy our products somewhere, which ones do and don't sell direct? How are we
going to market ourselves as more qualified to fit patients? And if
competitive bidding becomes a nationwide reality, how will we compete?
Jeremy Sprouse CPO
Certification no longer represents qualification.It certainly doesn't have
any accountability.
In my opinion, its become obsolete and is uneffective to determine
credibility and qualification of your profession.
Perhaps NOW that you have the newly formed O&P Alliance, you can prioritize
their strategic planning process for developing the Alliance's legislative
and regulatory objectives to separate providers of O&P and those of DME by
requiring that O&P providers be state and federally regulated in order to
receive reimbursement from Medicare/Medicaid and third party payers/
See below announcement .You all belong to one or more of the four
organizations in the Alliance. That could be a dilemma for many....again
!Paricullary in this groups!
Speak up!
Oh OH NO NOT THAT !! That would mean having to acquire a license, being
subject to accountability and better ensuring provider qualification
,patient protection and salvaging our profession. !!
You will no longer have it both ways and remain in business. It maybe too
late for many.
Tony Barr
Four Major O&P Groups Form Legislative Alliance
Four major orthotic and prosthetic organizations have formed a new,
unprecedented alliance to join together to work on federal and state
government affairs. The American Board for Certification in Orthotics and
Prosthetics (ABC), the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists (the
Academy), the American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association (AOPA), and the
National Association for the Advancement of Orthotics and Prosthetics
(NAAOP) announced the new alliance February 9.
The Orthotic & Prosthetic Alliance, as the new coalition will be known,
marks a new era in both cooperation and coordination among ABC, the Academy,
AOPA, and NAAOP, the organizations said in a joint statement. Together the
four organizations represent a large segment of the orthotics and
prosthetics profession. The unified effort on legislative and regulatory
issues will lead to less duplication in activity among the four groups. All
have an interest in programs, policies, rules and regulations coming from
Congress, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and state
legislatures.
-----Original Message-----
From: Orthotics and Prosthetics List [mailto:<Email Address Redacted>] On
Behalf Of Jeremy Sprouse
Sent: Wednesday, February 22, 2006 10:26 AM
To: <Email Address Redacted>
Subject: Re: [OANDP-L] FW: [OANDP-L] BoyCott of Otto Bock and other
companies that sell direct to patients
Where does this end? Where is O&P's futures.. Besides O&P, my business also
sells rehab and DME equipment. DME companies have been dealing with direct
selling issues for a long time. The difference is the DME manufacturers are
marketing the big chains..Walmart, CVS, and so on and so forth. For example
Wal-Mart use to carry Invacare lift chairs. The exact lift chairs our DME
company sold. However; Walmart sold the chair cheaper than we could buy it.
We voiced our concerns to Invacare about the lift chair issue and they
eventually stopped selling them. I'm sure you have all seen ads on your TV
for The Scooter Store. This company is owned by Pride Mobility, and this is
their means of direct supply. And just like O&P the list goes on and on.
Where does this end?
With competitive bidding and insurance contracts becoming competitive, who
is going to be able to under price and compete with manufacturers? How will
we show our worthiness? What makes certified practitioners more qualified
to fit a device than the people who make it? Are their sales reps less
qualified? It seems like every pharmacy and DME company in my area has sent
someone to Tru-Life's(Camps) or someone else's course for orthotics. Now
they too are Certified Fitters. Does Tru-Life and other companies limit
sales of custom devices to only CO's? The answer is no, everyone and their
brother is selling custom devices. And yet our organizations, both ABC and
BOC have tried to increase memberships with less qualified certifications
such as Certified Fitter programs. And with many custom orthotics being made
from measurements, who is to say they can't read a tape as well as we can?
While I agree that direct sales will hurt O&P, I also see that we are going
to have one heck of time convincing referrals and others that these sales
reps are not qualified, especially since our organizations have made it
easier for anyone to become certified. What comes after Certified
doesn't seem to matter. I keep hearing referrals say they told me they
were certified. Yeah, they are..as fitters. What comes after Certified
seems to go in one ear and out the other.
How can we compete with the companies that sell to us? We have to
buy our products somewhere, which ones do and don't sell direct? How are we
going to market ourselves as more qualified to fit patients? And if
competitive bidding becomes a nationwide reality, how will we compete?
Jeremy Sprouse CPO
Citation
Tony Barr, “BoyCott of Otto Bock and other companies that sell direct to patients,” Digital Resource Foundation for Orthotics and Prosthetics, accessed November 5, 2024, https://library.drfop.org/items/show/226126.
