Diabetics are especially at risk for nontraumatic amputations, accounting for 82,000 nontraumatic lower extremity amputations (LEAs) in the U.S. annually, according to the American Diabetes Association. The Centers for Disease Control reports more than 60 percent of LEAs occur in diabetics.
Orthotic & Prosthetic Solutions has combined the best of many different plans to provide a complete care model that uses a multidisciplinary approach. The American Podiatric Medicine Association estimates that approximately 50 percent of all lower extremity amputations caused by diabetes are preventable through proper foot care. It is our conviction that preventing amputation is often overlooked and needs to be brought to the forefront of diabetic patient care. We believe in a multipronged approach that focuses heavily on patient education, routine foot exams, and proper footwear in the fight to prevent amputation.
Patient Education: Our patient education program consists of written and web-based teaching tools that stress the importance of the following:
Routine Foot Exams: We use a multidisciplinary approach to our diabetic foot screenings. The key points of our exam are as follows:
Proper Footwear: According to the therapeutic foot bill passed by Congress in 1993, all diabetics who meet any of the criteria qualify for insurance to cover one pair of extra depth shoes and three pairs of multidensity inserts per year. All patients who qualify for orthotic services receive the following:
All patients who receive shoes and inserts are monitored by Orthotic & Prosthetic Solutions every four months. These follow-up appointments help reduce the risk of many problems with diabetic feet and allow us to oversee the scheduled changing of orthoses.
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