Therapeutic Shoe Misfits
Sylvia Thompson
Description
Collection
Title:
Therapeutic Shoe Misfits
Creator:
Sylvia Thompson
Date:
8/8/2008
Text:
Dear OP&P Professionals,
I have developed a nationally accredited facility where I provide a quality
service to my community and work hard for my place because not all doctors
are familiar with the Pedorthist and worse, a few times a year traveling
shoe carnivals with skitted salespeople hit our town with a publicity blitz,
a 4 hour senior center room rental where a single visit for fitting takes
place by a person who has no recognized training in footwear, but claims to
have a certificate in that sort of thing. The company is owned through
another state and by looking on Google Earth, it may be a vacant lot.
According to their representative, No one needs an assessment because
everyone gets custom molded inserts and free Medicare shoes. People line
up and they are all given a foam impression box to step into after they have
signed away their benefits.
The diabetic's are receiving their ill fitting shoes in the mail, with heat
moldable insoles, unmolded to anything, often in plastic shoes. The
traveling show hitting here, seems to have few scruples, they don't perform
assessments and include people who are not diabetic. At the same time they
have them sign away their benefits on diabetes testing supplies, recipients
have told me their mail order supplies frequently don't work, are not
accurate, and they have been unable to provide a consistent flow of test
strips.
Later, people come to me when their shoes do not fit, fall apart or are
unwearable &/ or with black arms from their lancet devices that launched
across the room and lodged in the floor. An ARNP in a nearby town has
reportedly declared their testing supplies as lethal. I try to work with
Medicare to provide necessary supplies and the physicians are reluctant
because the last shoe people provided poor service, supplies and follow up
was non-existent.
Improper treatment can have devastating consequences for patients and the
community caring for them. The traveling programs that prey on unsuspecting
communities and then disappear are destroying the reputation of our field
while they trash our towns, provide substitutions for supplies and rape our
people of their benefits.
I collect their advertisements and peoples complaint, have purchased the
things I have had to replace for them and we have to pick up the pieces
after they are gone. CMS is aware of the problem, but they haven't stopped
it.
Again, this week, they rented a room in our Senior Center for a RE-Fitting
where they will probably, once again, use an untrained person to provide a
solo meeting, hand them papers to sign, give them foam boxes to step into
and leave. The things come out in the mail and the cycle continues.
Our state recognizes the ABC Certified Pedorthist and all legitimate
programs proudly display their certifications, licenses & accreditations for
your personal inspection. The United States government provides preventive
programs with clearly stated guidelines. Unfortunately, there are
unscrupulous vendors who circumvent good patient care by utilizing untrained
personnel, giving an inferior product but charging insurance companies for
custom products and failing to provide the mandatory follow-up care.
Can you help?
Sylvia Thompson, MS,RN,CFCN,CPED
Owner
WELL FOOT CLINIC
Port Angeles, WA
(360) 582-3736
I have developed a nationally accredited facility where I provide a quality
service to my community and work hard for my place because not all doctors
are familiar with the Pedorthist and worse, a few times a year traveling
shoe carnivals with skitted salespeople hit our town with a publicity blitz,
a 4 hour senior center room rental where a single visit for fitting takes
place by a person who has no recognized training in footwear, but claims to
have a certificate in that sort of thing. The company is owned through
another state and by looking on Google Earth, it may be a vacant lot.
According to their representative, No one needs an assessment because
everyone gets custom molded inserts and free Medicare shoes. People line
up and they are all given a foam impression box to step into after they have
signed away their benefits.
The diabetic's are receiving their ill fitting shoes in the mail, with heat
moldable insoles, unmolded to anything, often in plastic shoes. The
traveling show hitting here, seems to have few scruples, they don't perform
assessments and include people who are not diabetic. At the same time they
have them sign away their benefits on diabetes testing supplies, recipients
have told me their mail order supplies frequently don't work, are not
accurate, and they have been unable to provide a consistent flow of test
strips.
Later, people come to me when their shoes do not fit, fall apart or are
unwearable &/ or with black arms from their lancet devices that launched
across the room and lodged in the floor. An ARNP in a nearby town has
reportedly declared their testing supplies as lethal. I try to work with
Medicare to provide necessary supplies and the physicians are reluctant
because the last shoe people provided poor service, supplies and follow up
was non-existent.
Improper treatment can have devastating consequences for patients and the
community caring for them. The traveling programs that prey on unsuspecting
communities and then disappear are destroying the reputation of our field
while they trash our towns, provide substitutions for supplies and rape our
people of their benefits.
I collect their advertisements and peoples complaint, have purchased the
things I have had to replace for them and we have to pick up the pieces
after they are gone. CMS is aware of the problem, but they haven't stopped
it.
Again, this week, they rented a room in our Senior Center for a RE-Fitting
where they will probably, once again, use an untrained person to provide a
solo meeting, hand them papers to sign, give them foam boxes to step into
and leave. The things come out in the mail and the cycle continues.
Our state recognizes the ABC Certified Pedorthist and all legitimate
programs proudly display their certifications, licenses & accreditations for
your personal inspection. The United States government provides preventive
programs with clearly stated guidelines. Unfortunately, there are
unscrupulous vendors who circumvent good patient care by utilizing untrained
personnel, giving an inferior product but charging insurance companies for
custom products and failing to provide the mandatory follow-up care.
Can you help?
Sylvia Thompson, MS,RN,CFCN,CPED
Owner
WELL FOOT CLINIC
Port Angeles, WA
(360) 582-3736
Citation
Sylvia Thompson, “Therapeutic Shoe Misfits,” Digital Resource Foundation for Orthotics and Prosthetics, accessed November 2, 2024, https://library.drfop.org/items/show/229773.
