responses for walk aid users

responses for walk aid users

Forest R Sexton CPO

I currently have 5 patients using the Walk Aide. So far I
have been quite successful with it. It does require patient selection and
can require significant practitioner time to configure the stimulation
parameters. There is no insurance reimbursement and is all cash pay. We are
also working with a competitive system www.bioness.com. They primarily
targeted the Rehab/PT market and are revising their strategy to compete with
Walk Aide. The Functional electrical stimulation market has huge potential.
As OP I believe we are uniquely qualified to render these services - however
the reimbursement model we currently have - product based is not conducive
to providing these services over the long term. There is a significant
technical/intellectual component required in the delivery of these devices.
Will be interesting to see how/where these devices end up in the coding
scheme - most likely fall into the Ecodes as DME. I have contacted AOPA,
Jeff Martin at Innovative Neurotronics and Jon king of Bioness to address
this issue as well.




My name is Molly Cooper I'm a CPO. Deanna Fish, Katie Ennis, and I give the
training courses for the Walk-Aide. Please give me a call at 678-481-6490
or 678-455-8852 and I'll tell you whatever you want to know about it.
 
 
 
Well, it's not from Hanger or just for Hanger. It is a product of
Innovative Neurotronics.
 
We're using it on two people so far, and have not had enough longevity to
say about it's efficacy. I believe it has awesome potential
 
sells for 4000k--not covered by insurance---medicare does not have an L code
yet --you cannot discount it --- have to take course ---your competing
with the owners (je hanger ) there is an ongoing charge for the removable
electro ids every few weeks -----it works great with the right person----if i had
a stroke i would buy one in a heart beat ----most average patients don't want
to pay out of pocket and are willing to wait till insurance covers it ---
 
 
you will not be put on the provider registry if you don't make an initial
purchase as a trainer unit---investment is approx 12 to 14 hundred for
softwear etc from what i remember ---its tempting to buy because it is the future
of orthotics----but at the different clinics i attend for stroke there on
medicade /medicare / or third party payor that doesn't cover it either --all in
all i think its the way to go -------but remember its not for all cvas
--ms--spinal cord etc --selection is important--the best candidates are the new
cvas and their families ----good luck
 
 
 
You should talk to Innovative Neurotronics, the company that manufactures
the Walk Aide. Also it is not for sale exclusively through Hanger offices, I
know in California that private O&P companies also provide the Walk Aide to
their patients. I also know that Innovative Neurotronics Sales Rep's also sell
directly to patients, so they would really have the best answers to all your
questions.
 
 
I would be happy to help you with this.
First, it is a INN device. You would be buying it from SPS, not from Hanger.
Not a big difference, but a lot of people shy away if they think they are
feeding us.
Walk aide is a FES (Functional Electronic Stimulator).
Currently it is not a covered device by most insurances. Several Workers
Comps are covering these. We use Care credit for those patients that can't
afford the expense all at once.
We have delivered several and all our patients have done well to date.
We screen the patients prior to selling them a unit. In many cases, we let
them try it for a few days.
The reality is that every patient with drop foot wants it, but few are
candidates and even fewer can afford it at this time.
 
My Otto Bock rep said that they have one coming out soon
 
OPGA/POINT has a Manufacturer that is for the Independents to compete
against Hangers Walk-Aid. It is NeuroProsthetics by Bioflex/Wearable Therapy. If
you go to website www.wearabletherapy.com you can find more information about
it. Let me know if you would like more information about OPGA/POINT and how
we can help with your facility.








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