Hot Off the Press

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  CMS to Resume Medical Review Audits The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updated its Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Provider Burden Relief Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) to indicate that it will "discontinue exercising enforcement discretion beginning on August...
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  OSUIT Suspends O&P Tech Program The Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology (OSUIT) suspended admission of new students to its Associate in Applied Science in Orthotic & Prosthetic Technologies (OPT) program. The decision came after an extensive review of data regardin...
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  Ability P&O Recognized for COVID-19 Reopening Best Practices Ability Prosthetics and Orthotics, headquartered in Exton, Pennsylvania, received a certificate from the Greater Reading Chamber Alliance for its best practices in reopening after the closure related to the spread of COVID-19. Highlights of Abilit...
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  Wright & Filippis Names President The board of directors of Wright & Filippis, Rochester Hills, Michigan, announced the appointment of Steven M. Filippis as company president. Anthony J.
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  Orpyx Secures $7.6M in Series A Funding Orpyx Medical Technologies, Calgary, Alberta, announced the close of a $7.6M Series A investment round. The investment brings Orpyx's total funding since inception of the company in 2012 to $18.5M. The funding will help the company expand its Nort...
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  PrimeFare East Postponed PrimeCare Orthotics and Prosthetics Network, Germantown, Tennessee, announced that due to the increase of COVID-19 cases in Nashville, the PrimeFare East Regional Scientific Symposium has been postponed. The event was originally scheduled for July...
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  Texas Company Purchases Spenco Footwear Waco Shoe Company, Waco, Texas, has purchased Spenco Footwear assets. Two former Spenco executives, Jeff Antonioli and Brad Granger, the former vice president of global manufacturing and business development for Spenco Medical Corporation are co-o...
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  Chronic Back, Limb Pain Common in Lower-limb Amputees A literature review regarding the prevalence, characteristics, and factors influencing pain in persons with lower-limb amputations found back pain and residual limb pain occur in more than 50 percent of the cohort and that both pain types are posi...
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  Amputee Coalition Names Government Relations Director The Amputee Coalition has named Mike Zwolinski as its director of government relations. Zwolinski will oversee the organization's federal and state public policy interests, as well as its grassroots advocacy program. Zwolinski comes to the Amputee...
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  BOC Names First Certificant of Year The Board of Certification/Accreditation (BOC) has named David E. Evans, BOCP Emeritus, as the recipient of its first Certificant of the Year award. Evans, a prosthetist certified by BOC since 1998, has devoted his career to providing care and sup...
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  SBA Reopens COVID-19 Economic Impact Loans The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBS) announced it has reopened the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and EIDL Advance program portal to all eligible applicants experiencing economic impacts due to COVID-19. EIDL assistance can be used t...
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  CMS Requires PDAC Approval for Six O&P Codes In a joint article from the Durable Medical Equipment Medicare Administrative Contractors (DME MACs) and the Pricing, Data Analysis, and Coding (PDAC) contractor, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published the continuation of pri...
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  Academy Changes 2021 Annual Meeting Date The American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists (the Academy) has changed the date of its 2021 Annual Meeting & Scientific Symposium to May 4-7, 2021, at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans. Based on information gathered from the Centers for Disease...
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  BOC Seeks Nominations for Newberry Award The Board of Certification/Accreditation (BOC) is seeking nominations for the Jim Newberry Award for Extraordinary Service. Now in its fourth year, the award recognizes outstanding individuals who demonstrate extraordinary service to BOC. It is pr...
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  Alliance Requests HHS, CMS Allow O&P Telehealth Billing On June 11, the Orthotic and Prosthetic Alliance sent a letter to the US Department of Health and Human Services ( HHS ) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services ( CMS ) requesting that certified and/or state licensed orthotists and p...
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  OPC Postpones Conference to 2021 Orthotics Prosthetics Canada (OPC) postponed its bi-annual conference until August 2021 due to global public health concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The conference was originally scheduled for August 5-8 in Fredericton, New Brunswick. OP...
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  O&P Woman of The Year Nominations Now Open The Orthotic and Prosthetic Group of America (OPGA) announced that nominations for the O&P Woman of the Year Award are now open. Nominations must be submitted by July 10 and can be made online on the OPGA website . The 2020 O&P Woman of the Year A...
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  NAAOP Update: COVID-19, Race Relations, O&P Policy Agenda The National Association for the Advancement of Orthotics & Prosthetics (NAAOP) has released its latest webcast with an update on COVID-19, the O&P associations' joint statement on race relations, and various O&P policy updates: COVID-19 : NA...
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  Businesses Get More Flexibility on PPP Loans The American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association (AOPA) issued a release outlining recent changes to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) as follows: Congress finalized legislation this week to ensure that businesses that received a forgivable l...
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  Hanger Clinic Launches Virtual Classroom Hanger, Austin, Texas, launched the Hanger Clinic Virtual Classroom series, aimed at bringing its continuing education program online. The collaborative learning experience is led by experts in O&P for O&P professionals, physicians, physical thera...
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  CMS Updates COVID-19 POD Signature Requirements In April, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) waived signature requirements on proof of delivery (POD) documentation for dates of service within the public health emergency..
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  Angel City Games Go Virtual In March, in response to the COVID-19 crisis, Angel City Sports suspended all in-person programming and events, including the 2020 Angel City Games. Angel City Sports has since created the 2020 Angel City Virtual Games presented by The Hartford. T...
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  Academy Calls for Papers for 2021 Meeting The American Academy Of Orthotists & Prosthetists (the Academy) has called for abstracts, topics, and peer reviewers for its 2021 Academy Annual Meeting, which will feature in-person and virtual learning experiences. It is scheduled for February 1...
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  AOPA 2020 National Assembly Going Virtual The American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association (AOPA) will hold its 2020 National Assembly virtually, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The assembly was scheduled to take place September 9-12 in Las Vegas, and it will now be delivered virtua...
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  Amputee Coalition Conference Going Virtual The Amputee Coalition announced that its 2020 National Conference, scheduled for August 20-22, will become an online virtual conference on those dates due to COVID-19. The Coalition said it is working to ensure the virtual conference will still ha...
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  SBA Releases PPP Loan Forgiveness Application The Small Business Administration (SBA), in consultation with the US Department of the Treasury, released the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness application and detailed instructions for completing the application. The PPP was crea...
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  Telehealth Fulfills Certifying Requirement for Diabetic Shoes, Face-to-Face Required for Shoe Fitting AOPA confirmed with the DME MACs that physicians may use telehealth to fulfill face-to-face encounter requirements for therapeutic shoes...
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  ABC Releases COVID-19 Impact Survey Report At the beginning of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, the American Board for Certification in Orthotics, Prosthetics and Pedorthics (ABC) created a survey to gauge the consequences of the pandemic emergency on ABC stakeholders. The survey focu...
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  CMS Updates COVID-19 FFS FAQs The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently updated its frequently asked questions (FAQs) about Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) billing during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE). The updated FAQs supplement the previously re...
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  Hanger Asks Suppliers to Delay Clinic Sales Calls Hanger, Austin, Texas, sent a letter to its suppliers providing guidance about   sales isits in light of COVID-19 social distancing efforts. Hanger asked that in-person sales calls to its facilities be delayed for at least 60 days for the safety o...