Practitioners nowadays are “much more involved in Medicare guidelines, payer sources, and which devices are financially viable,” adds Frank Vero, CPO. “The clinical and business sides go hand-in-hand. You need to control costs and overhead, and adjust your business practices. If you’re the world’s greatest clinician, but a poor businessman, you won’t succeed.” Contributing to the blurred line between clinical and business responsibilities are necessary patient-care tasks, such as documentation and reimbursement. “If a practitioner cannot convince a payer that a treatment is medically necessary via their documentation, then treatment may be delayed or denied—that’s bad patient care,” explains Gustin. “Patient care involves knowing and understanding how to gain medically necessary approvals from various payers. Given the standardization of clinical components, the differentiating factor from one clinician to another is not the type of device, but their ability to gain approvals to provide care.” Fortunately, with the need for increased education has come a multitude of offerings and formats for both clinical and business education options. No longer do practitioners have to spend time and money traveling to in-person courses for all of
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their professional development needs. More economical options—such as videos, webinars, audio conferences, and other e-learning opportunities— enhance traditional learning formats. An abundance of options provide a perfect fit for busy O&P professionals.
Master’s Level Education— for Novice and Veteran Practitioners As the O&P profession has evolved, so too have the O&P schools. In fact, all of the National Commission on Orthotic and Prosthetic Education (NCOPE)-accredited schools were required to be elevated to master’s level by the end of 2012. Considering that O&P graduates have a residency requirement, today’s newest
practitioners are completing a much longer and more thorough education than some previous generations. And the residency program is an extension of that initial education experience: “There is a greater emphasis to put people in real-world settings, so they see the business side and reimbursement side” of becoming a prosthetist or orthotist, says Robin Seabrook, director of NCOPE. “Because of technology and the learning that is needed in [master’s level O&P programs], you have people coming out of school who have more of a research focus and more of a technology focus. They have a higher level of learning,” says Mark Edwards, director of professional and clinical services at Ottobock. Experienced professionals are appreciative of the industry’s movement to provide more continuing education opportunities. When seeking to upgrade their education to match the new entry-level requirements, seasoned professionals will notice some O&P schools are planning to offer post-professional master’s degrees, according to Seabrook. Such programs, which may be offered via distance-learning options, are designed for O&P professionals who are already in the profession and are certified/ licensed in at least one discipline.