Re: Accreditation to provide DMEPOS

Wil Haines

Description

Title:

Re: Accreditation to provide DMEPOS

Creator:

Wil Haines

Date:

11/16/2010

Text:

This is not surprising. But, some in the medical field seem to have
their act together, as exemplified in the link. It's sad that we in O&P
don't quite seem to get it and are unwilling to challenge the ill
conceived regulations that are handed down to us by government
officials. We don't need a lobbyist. We need straight laced and
accountable answers from those who work for US. O&P should never have
been included with DME and we are now paying dearly for it. Had that not
occurred, I believe fraud and abuse within our profession would be
minuscule today, compared to what we have now in the DMEPOS system. I
also believe that statement is supported by various OIG reports. I would
be happy to participate with a group of folks who are willing to take
the time to ask the tough questions of our officials and government
regulators and help find reasonable solutions to the terrible injustices
that are occurring within the orthotic and prosthetic communities.

A few days ago, I posted a note about the Total Body Orthotic which, in
my opinion, is nothing more than a glorified chair on wheels. In other
words, a wheelchair. Yet this item is evidently being billed to Medicare
as an orthotic (adjective) device. At any rate, I received 4 replies
about the TBO device, one of which was very meaningful inasmuch that
several other OIG references were included. I guess a wheelchair being
billed as an orthotic device doesn't raise eyebrows any longer.

On a side note, we still have not been able to convince the rest of the
world that the term orthotic was supposed to be an adjective. Let's
see, orthopedic, podiatric, pediatric, academic, and the list goes on
and on, with words usually ending in ic. All of these are adjectives,
not nouns. Ah, but some things are simply no longer important. But back
in the day of Jim Russ, you can bet your sweet bippie, it was still
important. But, just like chiropractic, orthotic has now been relegated
to be a noun, based upon common usage, sort of like ain't.
Personally, I like arsen't. Arsen't you going fishing tomorrow? A
little humor can be fun now and then.

Today, it is not unusual to hear of a private concern taking over a
government function. Outsourcing government run projects, such as the
northern Indiana Turnpike, to private concerns seems to be the thing to
do these days in order to save money for the government. Just yesterday,
I learned that our own Indianapolis parking meter system was being
outsourced to a private concern. Why is that so? I believe most of us
know the reason why that is so. For those who are not sure, there is one
simple word: Bureaucracy.


As listed in Merriam-Webster's online definition:

BUREAUCRACY:


    //

1/a/ *:* a < <URL Redacted>> body
of non-elective government officials /b/ *:* an administrative
policy-making group

2 *:* government
< <URL Redacted>> characterized
by specialization of functions, adherence to fixed rules, and a
hierarchy < <URL Redacted>> of
authority

3*:* a system of administration marked by officialism
< http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/officialism >, red tape
< http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/red%20tape >, and
proliferation < http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/proliferate >


    Examples of /BUREAUCRACY/

   1. She was fed up with all the red tape and /bureaucracy/.
   2. Both candidates pledge to simplify the state's bloated /bureaucracy/.
   3. As Europe slipped deeper into the war, the uranium panel twiddled
      its thumbs. It was so mired in bureaucracy that by the spring of
      1940, it had managed to approve only the $6,000 in research funds
      earmarked for Fermi and Szilard, so they could purchase uranium
      and graphite for their fission experiments. ---Jennet Conant,
      /Tuxedo Park/, 2002



Wil Haines, CPO
MaxCare Bionics
Avon, IN






On 11/16/2010 3:50 PM, Ted Trower wrote:
> So we we have to be accredited to provide DMEPOS, but after January first
> pharmacies do not.
> http://www.palmettogba.com/palmetto/providers.nsf/ls/National%20Supplier%20Clearinghouse~8B4SJJ8882?opendocument
>
>
> Ted A. Trower CPO, FAAOP
> A-S-C Orthotics& Prosthetics
> Jackson, MI
>
>

Citation

Wil Haines, “Re: Accreditation to provide DMEPOS,” Digital Resource Foundation for Orthotics and Prosthetics, accessed May 16, 2024, https://library.drfop.org/items/show/231966.