And The Medicare Ripoff Survey SAYS.........

And The Medicare Ripoff Survey SAYS.........

Tony Barr

10/20/2006

The below survey was sent to subscribers last week, as a 'example' to seek
suggestions from practitioners to recourse for patients that may receive
less than proper services by a no credentialed or credentialed practitioner
in a unregulated state..

The survey did not imply nor claim that the statements used were verified as
accurate but simply served as a example to generate provider input.

132 replies to the survey indicated selection D
23 replies indicated selection A
72 replies indicated B
4 replies indicated C
6 replies indicated E
4 replies indicated (other )

Thank you for your replies and participating in the sample survey.
Anthony T. Barr
President
Barr Foundation
www.oandp.com/barr
www.ErtlReconstruction.com

-----Original Message-----
From: Orthotics and Prosthetics List [mailto:<Email Address Redacted>] On
Behalf Of Tony Barr
Sent: Saturday, October 14, 2006 4:09 PM
To: <Email Address Redacted>
Subject: Re: [OANDP-L] And The Medicare Ripoff Survey SAYS.........

May I suggest we take a O&P listerve survey to assist Mr.Cartaya's perceived
dilemma, described below, and see what some of his 'professional' colleagues
would suggest he might referto his patient to do, as possible recourse, for
receiving a improper fitting prosthesis by a ABC certified prosthetist.

He assured the wife of his patient that he would have her husband walking
and enjoying the activities he did before loosing his limb . He states the
patient is an easy case, long A/K good shape, motivated to walk everything
going for him to make it easier for me as the prosthetist.
 
Since there is no legal recourse to approach, as South Carolina providers
are not regulated - ethically, I ask the O&P subscribers which one of the
below might you suggest the patient do:
 
A) Contact the prosthetist whom made the leg to correct the problem and if
he does not ,contact the ABC /Professional Diplomacy Committee, since the
provider is ABC certified, and contact the physician that subscribed the
prosthesis and inform them both of the issue.
 
B) contact the insurance provider that paid for the ill fitting prosthesis
and the wheelchair inform them of the dilemma.
 
C) contact the State of South Carolina's Consumer Affairs Dept.,under the
Dept. of Agriculture, since this is the only dept. for formal complaint
in a unregulated state .
 
D) ALL OF THE ABOVE
 
E) Tell him not to say anything to anyone and hope he can still get coverage
to reimburse Cartaya for a making another but proper fitting
prosthesis.There are good and bad providers out there as in every other
health care profession, and he just got a bad one.
 
Answer ? You may suggest other directions than A-E but a no response will
count as a vote for E) toward the total number of subscribers !