09/11/2015    

HEALTHCARE NEWS

APWH Writes Rebuttal Letter To Medicare Regarding Amputation LCD 

 

The Academy of Physicians in Wound Healing (APWH) recently submitted a rebuttal letter signed by APWH President Paul Glat, MD and APWH Executive Director Steven Kravitz, DPM to Medicare regarding legislative changes that would restrict podiatrists’ ability to perform “comprehensive functional assessments on patients with amputations affecting the foot. This LCD would preclude podiatrists from performing the evaluations on their own patients as well as when another physician refers a patient for an in-person functional assessment. 

 

Dr. Steven Kravitz

 

While there were additional aspects of the draft LCD also opposed by the APWH, the letter concludes “that which is most striking is omitting (DPM) from the definition of a “Licensed or Certified Medical Professional (LCMP). This has far reaching implications that would negatively impact patient care and in fact has potential of putting patients at increased risk by having professionals less trained in the subject area being forced to provide these services.”