03/09/2016    Eric J. Lullove, DPM

Which Wound Care Organization Is for You? (Jengyu Lai, DPM)

I applaud Dr. Lai’s informative discussion of the
need for DPMs to join as members of wound care
organizations, but as the podiatric physician
Board Member of the Association for Advancement
of Wound Care, I find the need to reply directly.

AAWC is the largest non-profit, multi-
professional association of wound care
specialists with over 2,200 members. Our
membership represents practicing wound care
specialists including physicians (MD, DO, and
DPM), nurse practitioners, clinical nurse
specialists, physical therapists and certified
wound care nurses. In addition, we have two-
hundred patient and lay-caregiver member
advocates.

In response to Dr. Lai, the AAWC not only made
our own comments to CMS regarding the certified
medical professional allowed to make assessments
of an amputated limb. Our comments were also made
in conjunction and separate with the Alliance of
Wound Care Stakeholders, of which the APMA and
APWH are component clinical association members,
as is the AAWC.

There are more than a couple of organizations
dedicated to the treatment of wounds. The AAWC
mission is “to advance the care of people with
and at risk for wounds.” We welcomed the input
of both the APMA and APWH in our joint comments
to CMS via the Alliance regarding this issue. We
have many APMA members who are members of the
AAWC, including our current president, Dr. Vickie
Driver.

Also, as one of the first CMET certified
physicians in the country, I am very proud of the
advancement that the APWH has made in the area of
physician wound management and care. However, I
do feel that Dr. Lai has not been forthcoming as
there are other organizations, much larger, that
have an active role in protecting DPMs around the
country in wound healing.

As the liaison to the Alliance for the AAWC and
also as a sitting member of the AAWC Health Care
Public Policy Committee, we have been very active
in protecting ALL physician providers (MD, DO,
DPM) over the last 5 years with regard to many
CMS and Intermediary LCDs that have been damaging
to our industry. From fighting with PDAC over
MediHoney, Novitas with HBO and First Coast with
Skin Substitutes, the AAWC and our association
with the Alliance have protected the wound care
industry as a whole.

Eric J. Lullove, DPM, Boca Raton, FL

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