American Academy of Orthotists & Prosthetists

June 2009 • Vol. 5, No. 3

Advancing Orthotic and Prosthetic
Care Through Knowledge

Exciting Developments on the Horizon for the Academy, O&P

Three months ago, we concluded the most successful Annual Meeting and Scientific Symposium in Academy history. I can still feel the energy and excitement from that week as strongly as I did driving home from Atlanta that Sunday evening. The meeting confirmed for me that our profession is moving forward, and we have a very bright future. The patients we serve will surely benefit from our efforts through improved quality of care and our ability to better ensure good functional outcomes.

Normally, the final communication by a president during his or her term reviews the accomplishments of the previous year. But even if you weren't in Atlanta, you're probably aware of the year's accomplishments—and there are people to thank and new developments to mention.

First, I want to thank Don Katz, CO, LO, FAAOP, and his Clinical Content Committee for an exceptional meeting chock full of opportunities for learning and interaction. As busy as I was, I still had time to enjoy clinically oriented conversations with students, physicians, and colleagues who challenged and inspired me.

We have already discussed plans for exciting additions and improvements for next year's meeting that promise to be innovative and engaging. Once again, the Academy staff did a great job of managing the meeting and providing support to the board, the membership, and exhibitors. If you made it through the always-crowded exhibit hall, you experienced the great interaction that occurred there between our practitioners and manufacturers. My forays into the hall yielded some interesting discussions about new products and new twists on old techniques. There is no other platform in our profession where I have the opportunity to have in-depth discussions with manufacturers about products and applications that yield better results for me. I thank our exhibitors for continuously engaging the Academy's membership.

So, what's on the horizon? We anxiously await CMS' ruling on BIPA 427 and look forward to other organizations adopting meaningful minimum education and training requirements for orthotics and prosthetics as well. The Orthotic and Prosthetic Education and Research Foundation (OPERF) used our meeting to announce the winner of the first Tamarack Prize for Outstanding Contributions to Orthotic Science and Practice and issued five different RFPs for research in O&P. The OPERF Research Committee, headed by Brian Hafner, PhD, announced that it expects to begin reviewing applications for these RFPs by the time you read this.

Since our meeting, there have been two exciting developments for our profession. The first is the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for O&P Outcomes Research. This announcement was the result of a meeting that was held in San Francisco between the Academy's Research Council and a representative from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The set-aside FOA was issued by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). NICHD is soliciting investigator-initiated grants to develop, validate, and evaluate a health-outcomes system measure for the consumers of orthotics or limb prosthetics. It is anticipated that NICHD will make two project-grant awards of $500,000 for five years; however, this could be changed to one award at $1,000,000 for five years, depending on the submissions.

In the second development, the Institute on Medicine (IOM) Committee on Comparative Effectiveness Research (CER), which held its annual stakeholders meeting in March to help determine research priorities for CER that reflect the needs of patients, consumers, and the American healthcare community, requested that the O&P community submit research priorities aimed at the needs of patients. Priorities were submitted through the O&P Alliance and by the Academy and other organizations in our field.

Each of these instances illustrates the increased national focus on O&P research and the need to validate what we do and determine which approaches are most effective with respect to patient functional outcomes. You can be sure that the Academy will remain at the forefront of efforts to promote O&P research and to connect clinicians and researchers with funding sources whenever possible.

Finally, I'd like to thank the members of the Academy's board of directors for their dedication to our profession and the ideals of the Academy to promote improved patient care through knowledge. Your board works tirelessly and represents your interests as well as any group of volunteers in our profession. This year has gone by quickly, and it has been my distinct honor to represent the Academy as your president. I am humbled and deeply grateful for the confidence you have shown in me by first electing me to the board and then to the executive committee. I pledge to continue to work to further the ideals of this organization that I hold very dear.

The leaders who will follow me are dedicated and prepared to continue the progress we have made and to meet the challenges we face as they emerge. You should have every confidence in their ability to represent you, the O&P professional, in the future.