08/10/2015    Rachel Eisenfeld, C.Ped

Pedorthists & Podiatrists Should Work Together: PA Podiatrist (Robert Scott Steinberg, DPM)

I am not a podiatrist. I have been a certified
pedorthist for 8 years, who tries to continually
educate myself by staying up to date with what is
happening in the foot world. I do subscribe to PM
News, but Dr. Steinberg’s response was sent to me
by a an open-minded podiatristwho I happen to
work with on a regular basis. I am not surprised
by Dr. Steinberg’s response to Dr. McGuire’s
comments. Most podiatrists feel the same way. Dr.
McGuire, as well as the podiatrist I work with,
are forward thinkers and do not pride themselves
on having to do it all.

I am not your “typical” certified pedorthist. I
am 29 years old, I run my own orthotics company
which does concierge mobile evaluations and I
have my own fabrication facility. I get to meet
all kinds of people and form a more unique bond
with my patients than many healthcare providers
wish they could achieve. I am a college graduate,
from a four-year University, where I studied
sports medicine and exercise science. I have 14
years of experience in gait analysis and shoe
componentry. I happened to be qualified enough to
win a government contract to work for the NIH as
their certified pedorthist. I see patients in
collaboration with world-renowned, published,
Physiatrists and physical therapists.

If Dr. Steinberg would like some examples of how
the Podiatric Profession could benefit from
pedorthic services, I think I am well qualified
to provide some assistance.

1. We are supposed to be the foot biomechanics
experts. As a certified pedorthist, I don’t know
how to do bunion surgery or take out ingrown
toenails, but I do know how the foot is supposed
to move. Podiatrists know the movement of the
foot as well, but most of your schooling is based
on different pathologies and treatments well
beyond orthotic correction pathologies. Why not
collaborate with someone whose expertise is only
in foot biomechanics? Having a specialist on
staff makes your office appear full service.
Adding a CPED, you can offer onsite orthotic full
service from fabrication to adjustment and shoe
fit.

2. I would like to think of myself as more of a
podiatric physician assistant than an orthotic
technician. I have thought, since getting into
the profession, that the certified pedorthist
should be in the clinical setting NOT in the shoe
store or fabrication lab. Think about this
scenario: someone comes in complaining of foot
pain, you narrow it down to being a
musculoskeletal issue that could be corrected
with orthotics. You can just hand them off to
your certified pedorthist to do the rest of the
work, leaving more time for seeing more patients
with more complicated issues.

3. When the patients ask you about their shoes,
do you know why that shoe isn’t good for them and
can you name at least 3 different brands and
versions that would be good for that patient?
What about 3 different brands/versions of dress
shoes? Sure, you can give the whole quick spiel
about heel counter, straight last, etc., but
wouldn’t it be outstanding customer service if
you had someone in your office that knows
everything about shoes, like the types, brands
and different functions? I read shoe catalogues
for pleasure! I enjoy being the Wikipedia of
shoes and your patients will greatly benefit from
it.

Dr. Steinberg is correct, though, the only way
these services provided by a certified pedorthist
would be lucrative is if there was time that
could be billed for our consultation services.
Unfortunately, there is not. If a certified
pedorthist wants to work in a clinical setting,
they are only going to get paid for half of their
work. That’s if they make the orthotics
themselves. Patients like the service, but are
not usually willing to pay for extra services not
covered by insurance.

I appreciate Dr. Steinberg’s comments, but I hope
that I changed his mind a little bit to see what
a certified pedorthist can do beyond the
orthotic.

Rachel Eisenfeld, C.Ped, Herndon, VA

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