LEADERSHIP SERIES
O&P ALMANAC: Why should O&P professionals consider including ancillary services as part of their practice? IVAN SABEL, CPO: As the landscape
for O&P continues to evolve and change, it’s becoming more and more difficult to look at it as a pure orthotic or pure prosthetic business. Some people are navigating well around the headwinds that are affecting the profession; others are not faring as well. A pure O&P practice, which I define as a facility that solely offers custom orthotics and/or prosthetics, will continue to face reimbursement challenges as well as challenges with the orthotic and prosthetic codes. In this environment, ancillary services can be leveraged as bottom-line contributions to offset these challenges and the changes in the headwinds. ANTHONY FILIPPIS, CPO: There are a lot of synergies of products that patients need. O&P patients are coming into our facilities anyway, so we need to consider the items they may need as rehabilitative—when they can’t use an orthosis or prosthesis, or to use as additional support. For example, items such as canes, grab bars, bathroom aids, and raised toilet seats are examples of things that can make our patients’ lives better and easier. We need to be thinking: “What are the things that are going to help improve our patients’ lives?” MICHAEL TILLGES, CPO: Ancillary services provide the patients and referral sources a full-service facility—in essence, a “one-stop shop.” They also allow a facility to become better diversified, and to tap into different revenue streams and markets to increase profitability. JEFF LUTZ, CPO: Consider is the key
word in this question. The possibility of adding services or product lines to an existing O&P practice is intriguing to many. However, owners will need to carefully consider the impacts the addition may have on their core business.
To assist, AOPA has recently formed an Ancillary Service Committee to identify services and products that are related to O&P but not typically provided in an O&P practice. The concept is to be able to provide practices with alternative income and identify what is required to participate, as well as the potential profit. It should be noted that we are also looking at potential value-adds that may not be a traditional revenue stream, but add to the practice’s value proposition to the patient and referral communities, driving our current core competency, O&P. O&P ALMANAC: How can the O&P profession leverage our core competency and core asset to broaden our scope? SABEL: O&P’s greatest asset is our
ability to identify and provide services to our patient population in a way that traditional business models outside of O&P don’t necessarily provide. Our referral sources come to us with one specific request—an orthotic or prosthetic device. But we need to look at patients in a much more holistic way; our patients need other services and products to continue to live their lives to the fullest. They come into our
facilities requesting just an orthosis or prosthesis, but they have a number of other needs in their treatment modality. By offering ancillary services, you’re contributing to a better quality of life for your patients, and you may make a profit to help offset some of the reimbursement and other recent challenges impacting O&P. FILIPPIS: I think it all ties to patient
management. Sometimes we get tunnel vision and focus only on orthotics or only on prosthetics. But we have to look at the activities of the patient before and after they arrive at our facilities. We can meet some of their needs—either with ancillary services, or by serving as a resource.
TILLGES: O&P’s core competency includes crafting and fitting of orthotic and prosthetic devices, as well as assessing the needs of the patient to provide appropriate products and services to better their life. O&P’s core asset includes the patients we take care of, our referral sources, third-party payors, and employees and staff members. By focusing holistically on the patients’ needs and providing them with the highest quality products and services, we enhance the quality of life for the patients we serve. O&P ALMANAC | NOVEMBER 2015
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