06/02/2016    

RESPONSES/COMMENTS (SUCCESS TIPS FROM THE MASTERS) -PART 1A

RE: When capturing casting for orthotics, should you bill a casting fee? (Robert Steinberg, DPM)

From: Paul Kesselman, DPM

 

Actually, the issue of using scanners has come up in a joint meeting among APMA, AOPA, and PFA which I recently chaired, and it was then discussed at the APMA Health Policy and Practice Committee. The issue will also be discussed at the APMA Coding Committee later this week. Representatives of the AOPA, APMA ,and PFA all agreed that the use of scanners (if they provide a true 3-dimensional Image) should be incorporated into the interpretation for S0395. This incorporation is certainly in line with modern day practices of both orthotic providers and manufacturers.

 

The cost of scanners is now well below $500, and there are some which use an I-Phone App and provide high quality scans. Given the costs and high quality imaging, along with modern manufacturing technologies, the days of messy plaster are coming to a close. 

 

Paul Kesselman, DPM, Woodside, NY 

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06/03/2016    

RESPONSES/COMMENTS (SUCCESS TIPS FROM THE MASTERS) -PART 1A

RE: When capturing casting for orthotics, should you bill a casting fee? (Paul Kesselman, DPM)

From: Doug Richie, DPM

 

There is no evidence that an I-Phone App can provide a high quality scan of the foot. Only a few scanners can adequately capture the posterior aspect of the calcaneus relative to the reference plane of the weight-bearing surface of the metatarsals, while the foot is held in a neutral postion, all essential for the fabrication of a true functional foot orthosis. This suggestion by Dr. Kesselman regarding the availability of a "high quality scan" from an I-Phone is entirely incorrect.  

 

Doug Richie, DPM, Seal Beach, CA