05/06/2015    

RESPONSES/COMMENTS (NON-CLINICAL)

RE: ESWCT Coverage (David Zuckerman, DPM)

From: Elliot Udell, DPM

 

In a lecture/discussion at the ACLES convention this past weekend, we discussed the basics of how to evaluate whether to invest in an expensive diagnostic or therapeutic device. Whether the device we are considering is therapeutically efficaceous is only one piece of the puzzle. The other two pieces are whether the device makes financial sense for both the practitioner as well as the manufacturer. If you spend 25,000 dollars or more on a modality and find that you have to be a crackerjack salesman  because insurances will not pay for the test or treatment, you may find yourself making monthly payments for something that will become a dinosaur in your closet, even if the modality really helps your patients.

 

The last piece of the puzzle is the problem if the manufacturer of the modality does not sell enough units and goes belly up. This can place owners of the device in the precarious position of owning a machine that no longer has any support along with the inability to obtain parts for the unit should they either break or are needed for daily use, as with certain neurological diagnostic and physical therapy modalities.

 

Elliot Udell, DPM, Hicksville, NY