ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — The specialty of O&P needs to use science and data to prove its services provide real benefits, so that payers, physicians and patients are comfortable with “what we are doing and why we are doing it,” according to John Rheinstein, CP, FAAOP (D), clinic manager for Hanger Clinic in New York.
Speaking at the New Jersey Chapter of the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists Annual Meeting, Rheinstein said O&P risks further pressure on reimbursements, as well as falling behind the rest of the medical field, if there is not a greater focus on data and evidence.
“If we don’t go this way, I think we’re going to see continuing pressure on reimbursements and we’re not going to keep up with the rest of the field of medicine, because everything is becoming more evidenced-based and data-driven,” he said. “ … The individual clinician needs to take ownership of what research is on a clinic basis, how to communicate that to their patient and how to drive it forward.”
He later added, “The train is leaving the station and everyone needs to get on board.”
