Vol. 7, No.9

November 2002

Negotiated Rulemaking Proceeds…slowly

Meetings will determine “qualified provider”

The Negotiated Rulemaking Committee on Specialized Payment Provisions and Requirements for Prosthetics and Certain Custom-Fabricated Orthotics is comprised of 21 organizations, including the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). It has met twice. As expected, the meetings are excruciatingly detailed and slow-paced. Various committee members representing each organization gave presentations. None were more forceful or outstanding than that by Michael D. Brncick, CPO who presented the pathway to competency through NCOPE-accredited schools.

The Academy is represented by Dennis Clark, CPO, and Mel Stills, CO with alternate support by Gary Lamb, CO, FAAOP and Frank Bostock, MBA, CO, FAAOP. The Academy cannot support any committee action that compromises the quality of patient care and patient care outcomes. The next meetings are scheduled for January 6-7, February 10-11, March 10-11, and April 7-8. Each meeting is held at the Pikesville Hilton (Baltimore) beginning at 9:00 am and is open to the public. Minutes are summarized and published after each meeting. CMS has an open website with background information containing an overview, convener’s report, charter, committee membership, minutes and meetings schedule, and Federal Register notices. The site is located at www.cms.hhs.gov/faca/prosthetic.

Century College Models O&P Awareness

Steve Stolberg, CP and Stan O’Connor, CP along with two members of the Orthotic and Prosthetic Student Association (OPSA) at Century College (White Bear Lake, MN) attended a Disability Awareness Day at a local high school. About 800 of the 1500 high school students came to a one-hour presentation and exhibits on orthotics and prosthetics, hearing impairment, occupational therapists, physical therapists and a booth from the special Olympics. The O&P display had a wide variety of O&P devices along with a videotape of the 1996 and 2000 Paralympics in which one of the OPSA students competed. Her experiences in the Paralympics were very enlightening for all of the students that attended. The O&P display seemed to be the most attended display of all. The student association plans to do this on an annual basis in the future, and hopes to expand our presentation opportunities to other high schools in the state.

Thank You Practitioners

For your willingness to talk with students in these states

These practitioners have said they would talk with HS students about O&P — How about you?

One of the activities of the Joint Committee on O&P Awareness, spearheaded by the Academy, is the development of a “one-stop-all-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-O&P” website. The site, which opens this month, is located at www.opcareers.organd contains information to help acquaint high school students with the profession.

A key section of the website is a geographic listing of practitioners who are willing to talk with students (or possibly offer them a tour of their facilities) about O&P. Chairperson Wendy Beattie, CPO, FAAOP placed a request on the O&P Listserve for practitioners willing to be listed and quickly received dozens of responses. Additional practitioners are being listed with each update of the site. If you’re willing to talk with high school students in your area and would like to be part of the list, please send an email indicating your interest to Andrew Francis.

The OP Careers website also contains information on what it takes to be an orthotist or prosthetist, a listing of O&P schools, scholarship information, profiles of representative practitioners, a brief illustration of how technology impacts the field, and pictures of practitioners at work. The committee has also published a career pamphlet primarily for use with high school guidance counselors.

JPO Is on 4 Indexing Services

JPO, the Academy’s quarterly scientific journal, has been quietly gaining increased stature within the medical publishing community. In 2000, it was named to the prestigious Brandon/Hill Selected List of Print Books and Journals in Allied Health. The list, prepared for health sciences librarians, is “intended as a selection guide to be used in a library supporting allied health education programs or allied health personnel in either an academic or health care setting. Additionally, it is part of Ovid, an electronic medical and academic text database available to medical institutional subscribers, and is found on four medical indexing services.

• MED (Allied and Complementary Medicine Database, Health Care Information Service, British Library)

• EMBASE/Excerpta Medica, a biomedical and pharmacological database that provides access to up-to-date information about medical and drug-related subjects. The database indexes 4,000 serial titles from around the world. Each record contains the full bibliographic citation, indexing terms and codes; 80% of all citations in EMBASE include author-written abstracts.

• National Rehabilitation Information Center (NARIC)

• RECAL Information Services (National Centre for Training and Education in Prosthetics and Orthotics, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland)

Who should I call when I have a question?

The ACADEMY at 703-836-0788

Within the Academy . . .

Testing Split-Payment on Dues — A small number of the Academy’s practitioner members have selected the split payment to renew their dues as four credit card payments. The option was offered to Active and Affiliate Members who chose the extended year (19 months) option of $475. Their dues will be split into four convenient payments of $121.75.

VISA & MasterCard Require More Detail on Credit Card Payments — You may have noticed Academy operators asking for additional information when members purchase items using a Visa or MasterCard credit card. For added security the card companies now require the billing address (including zip) of the cardholder to validate a purchase. The Academy has changed its registration and order forms accordingly.

New Lockbox for Mailed Payments — Please be sure to use the envelope provided when making payments for dues or other Academy purchases. The Academy has changed banks and lockboxes. The new lockbox is identified as “Dept 937, Alexandria, VA 22334-0937.” Use of the lockbox for payments adds to the security and timeliness of record keeping.

Lots of Record Changes — More than 700 responses to the Academy’s Data Verification mailing were received and processed in members’ records. The Academy annually mails members the basic information contained in their records for review and to make changes. This process, coupled with the continuous updating that occurs as members call or email the Academy, keeps the accuracy of member records at 99% or better, saving the Academy on lost postage due to inaccurate addresses. The Academy now has email addresses for approximately 75% of its Active Members.

Watch Your Mail — Members can expect to receive in the next few weeks the 2003 Education Calendar and Annual Meeting Preliminary Program. Both booklets are filled with important information about the content of upcoming meetings and ways to save money on earning PCE credits.

Texas, NY Donate to Project Quantum Leap

The New York Chapter was the first to send $1,000 for Project Quantum Leap this year. It was followed by $3,000 from the Texas Chapter. President Frank H. Bostock, MBA, CO, FAAOP gratefully acknowledged the contributions, adding that the need for contributions to go after grant money continues.