The Strength of Podiatric Medicine

Any profession is only as strong as its members. It takes many dedicated professionals to advance a profession, and that progress can be achieved only out of a love—and respect—for that profession.

But individuals alone cannot advance a profession without an organizational structure.

In podiatric medicine, it is clear that we are advancing our profession. We have an improving educational base with academically strong institutions of higher learning and residencies throughout the country. Our local and state component societies are strong, and we are blessed with dedicated affiliated and related organizations. The APMA is stronger than ever as it brings all of those organizations together under one umbrella. This is truly a team effort that cannot be accomplished by any of these organizations alone.

Let’s look at some of the prominent accomplishments that have taken place in our profession during the last two years:

• Guidelines to aid DPMs in their contract negotiations with managed care organizations were developed and published in the APMA NEWS.
• A coalition of 14 specialty medical societies was organized to correct coding edits developed by off-the-shelf software companies.
• Model language was developed for hospital and insurance nondiscrimination provisions for use by state component societies.
• Insurance plans were lobbied to accept all of the recognized certifying boards for credentialing DPMs.
• APMA fought long and hard for equal pay for equal work.
• A clarification affirming that DPMs are eligible to perform their own inpatient histories and physicals was received from the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO).
• The five-year limitation on student loan deductions was repealed and the income threshold was increased.
• APMA worked in collaboration with other medical associations to develop a meaningful patient bill of rights.
• A public relations program was put in place that has generated over a billion media impressions within the last year alone. The efforts were realized in print media, television, radio, the Internet, public service announcements, and video news releases.
• APMA presented its most successful national scientific meeting ever.
• The concept that diabetic neuropathy is a significant risk factor leading to unnecessary amputations was advanced, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) became convinced that coverage for patients with the condition was necessary.
• APMA worked in collaboration with many other health organizations to develop the Feet Can Last a Lifetime Coalition to promote the concept that appropriate foot care can save the limbs of patients with diabetes.
• The Association worked within the framework of CPT and RUC to put more than $100 million back into the hands of DPMs.
• Guidance on appropriate coding was provided to DPMs via a newsletter.
• Through a collaborative effort with the International Federation of Podiatrists, podiatric medicine was advanced throughout the world.

These are just some of our significant accomplishments. They are not the accomplishments of one organization, but the accomplishments of many organizations dedicated to the advancement of the profession and the progress of foot and ankle care in the United States and around the world.

We are not finished; there is still much to do. We must look to the future with eager anticipation to identify our needs and set strategies in place to accomplish our goals.

We still face many challenges in the future. We can and will address these challenges with the same vigor that we have addressed issues in the past. But lest we forget, we can achieve higher levels only if we keep focused on our goals and maintain the synergy that has brought us to this point in our history.

We are a strong profession because we are united in our vision and we remain committed to working together for the common goal of continuing the advancement of podiatric medicine.

There is “Strength through Unity.”