Feature
Licensure: Setting O&P Professionals Apart from General Providers
By Judith Philipps Otto
The consensus seems increasingly to focus on acceptance of the oft-repeated homily: "Think about it: the person who cuts your hair is licensed, but the person who makes a prosthesis or straightens your daughter's spine does not have to be licensed...
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Feature
Licensure: Advice from Battle-Hardened Warriors
By Judith Philipps Otto
Joe Elliott, CP, BOCPO, Hanger Prosthetics &Orthotics, Birmingham, Alabama: "I think the best thing todo, if I were in a state that didn't have licensure and I wasinterested in it, would be to contact people who had been throughit. "I spoke to the...
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Feature
Licensure: Learning from Mistakes
By Judith Philipps Otto
Sadly, the biggest mistake made in the pursuit oflicensure to date is the delay in starting sooner--a mistake thathas already cost the profession dearly, believes John N. Billock,CPO/L, FAAOP, Orthotics & Prosthetics RehabilitationEngineering Cent...
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Feature
Licensure: If There’s a Small Population
By Judith Philipps Otto
Pursuing licensure is more difficult in a statewhich has a very low population of O&P providers, and hence hasless dedicated manpower to support the legislative initiatives andfewer members to share the costs, which are considerable. However,there...
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Feature
Licensure: Is Anybody Still Opposed?
By Judith Philipps Otto
A.J. Filippis, CPO, Wright & Filippis, RochesterHills, Michigan, still has serious concerns about embracinglicensure: "Because of the relatively small size of our industry, we areprobably not going to have our own licensing board in most cases,"h...
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Feature
Anthropometrics Goes Beyond Immediate Prosthetic Benefits
By Miki Fairley
Accurate measurement techniques and instruments can improve theapplication of anthropometrics--the comparative study of human bodymeasurements and properties--not only in prosthetics practices, butalso in enabling the prosthetics profession to con...
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Today's Consumer
'If I Can't Run Fast, I'll Run Far'
By Meredy Fullen
I would never in a million years have thought I would be arunner, much less running marathons, ultra marathons, and thefamous Boston Marathon!" Kelly Luckett stands on Patriot's Day emblem. Perhaps only a runner who puts in miles upon milescan...
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Sports Page
104 Disabled Athletes Display Prowess at Exciting San Diego Triathlon
By Tina Eichner
The crisp air was filled with anticipation ascountless swimmers assembled on the beach of La Jolla Cove under aflawless morning sky for the first portion of the 12th Annual SanDiego Triathlon October 30. The eagerly awaited event is theprimary fun...
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Creature Care
Prosthetist Keeps Poultry in Motion
By Jim Young, CP, FAAOP
Q: Why did the chicken cross the road? A: Well, in this case he was searching for the newest AmputeeProsthetic Clinic in south Georgia . Jim Young, CP, FAAOP, was attacking a small stackof administrative paperwork at his new prosthetic care facili...
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Perspective
2006 Trends: Deja Vu All Over Again?
By John Michael, MEd, CPO, FISPO, FAAOP
In preparation for this article, I reread myDecember 2002 retrospective for The EDGE and was struck byhow apropos the summary statement from that era still remained: "Most P&O observers would agree that although there wereno tremendous disasters...
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Got FAQs?
Got FAQs?
By Lisa Lake-Salmon
The future of your practice depends onknowledgeable billing and collection information. Understanding thefull aspect of billing guidelines and procedures will effectivelyincrease your reimbursement. This informative column will helpproviders and t...
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Profile
Paul Hendrickson, CP
Paul Hendrickson, CP Ascent Orthotics & Prosthetics Denver, Colorado What is your favorite website? www.ascentclinics.com If you weren't in O&P, what would be your nextcareer choice? Working up on the farm.
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Viewpoint
From the Editor - Licensure: Setting O&P Apart
By Miki Fariley
Every job is a self-portrait of the person who doesit. Autograph your work with excellence. AuthorUnknown Licensure helps authenticate a profession and inmany industries is a hallmark of recognized expertise.
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At Complete Professional Office Services You Are
the Most Important Person!
O&P BILLING ON THE CUTTING EDGE!
- Increase Earnings
- Speed up Cash Flow
- Increase Co-pay and Patient Payments
- User-friendly Custom Reports
- Up-to-date Receivables on QuickBooks®
- Eliminate Personnel Training
For more information, contact:
John Dolza
810.629.6424
cposervices@earthlink.net

The new Entegra Hydraulic 180 Knee
System, manufactured by Hosmer, is a standard 180mm
hydraulic knee unit offering swing and stance phase hydraulic
control and a sturdy thru bolt design. The system offers total knee
flexion of 115¾, and a choice of four proximal adapters.
According to Hosmer, the top of the knee and corresponding adapters
have been uniquely designed to provide 360 degrees of rotation. It
also offers an adjustable yield rate. The entire system has a
weight of only 40.7 oz. (1153g) and is rated to 220 lbs.
For more information, contact:
PEL Supply Company
800.321.1264
www.pelsupply.com

With OMEGA® Tracer® 8.0 practitioners gain the latest CAD advancements
in a familiar package!
- Alpha® DESIGN" AK Liners: control gel placement and
thickness for custom transfemoral liners.
- Integration with OPIE Practice Management Suites: allows
OMEGA Tracer patient files to be added to OPIE
Suite's digital patient records.
- Enhanced Alpha DESIGN Liner Modification Tools: provides
ability to modify any aspect of previously created DESIGN Liners
without losing existing gel patterns.
- Advanced Dual Model View: compares two shape files side-by-side
for clinical analysis of patient progress.
For more information, contact:
Ohio Willow Wood
800.848.4930
www.owwco.com

Townsend Design's Rebel Reliever
OA is a lightweight aircraft aluminum brace that mirrors
the low-profile design of the Rebel Series functional knee braces.
The Rebel Reliever OA brace features the
patent-pending Loadshifter Relief Mechanism for achieving optimum
corrective force. The angle of the thigh shell can be shifted to
increase correction and amplify the three-point pressure needed to
reduce load on the affected compartment.
The Rebel ACL brace is designed to provide
stabilization before or after surgery, to help prevent anterior
tibial translation.
Townsend's braces are prefabricated in standard sizes, XS to
XXL.
For more information, contact:
SPS
800.767.7776
www.spsco.com

CareCredit® offers O&P practices a
Patient Presentation Chart to help make presenting
payment options easier and more effective during patient fee
discussions.
The presentation chart provides details on
CareCredit's No Interest and Low Interest payment plans and helps
patients determine the plan that will work best for them by
selecting the monthly payment amount that fits comfortably into
their budgets. The presentation charts are
available to enrolled practices at no cost and are part of
CareCredit's practice resource center, which includes promotional,
marketing, and patient education materials that practices can use
to maximize growth and increase revenue.
For more information, contact:
CareCredit
800.300.3046
www.carecredit.com

New from Ossur is the Iceross Dermo
Cushion Liner featuring a Dermo Gel Silicone with Active
Skin Care. This new cushion liner features a soft 15mm thick distal
padding without the umbrella and matrix, making it a perfect
solution for patients who want all the advantages of Iceross Dermo
materials in a dedicated cushion liner.
In addition, it is retrofitable to the improved Iceross
Dermo Locking Liner, which now features a Distal Umbrella,
without a removable threaded insert.
For more information, contact:
Ossur
800.233.6263
www.ossur.com

You can now purchase BREG
products such as the X2K®, SlingShot 2, Venture Walker, CROM
(Controlled Range of Motion) Walker, Patellar Tracking Orthosis
(PTO), and Airmesh® from SPS.
BREG's extensive product offerings, including
postoperative pain management products, CPM devices, and a full
range of soft goods and functional knee braces, are designed to
meet the changing needs of customers worldwide. Whether you require
"off-the-shelf" convenience or variable design options to
complement different activity levels and price points,
BREG has the bracing to allow your customers to
excel.
For more information, contact:
SPS
800.767.7776
www.spsco.com

Ongoing Care Solutions/NeuroFlex Inc. offers a
complete line of orthotics, including the New &
Improved HKO (Hip & Knee Orthosis) and the
CHAMP W.H.F.O. (Wrist, Hand, Finger Orthosis).
- HKO available in standard and extra-large
sizes
- HKO features new, easy-to-use, spring-loaded
adjustment, allowing abduction of hips and knees up to 45
degrees
- HKO can be used in a bed and/or
wheelchair
- CHAMP available in extra-small to extra-large,
in right or left models
- CHAMP is a prefabricated W.H.F.O. to treat
wrist, finger, and thumb contractures
- CHAMP easily bends to accommodate radial/ulnar
deviation and wrist drop
For more information, contact:
Ongoing Care Solutions
800.375.0207
www.ongoingcare.com

The UltraSafeStepTM AFO
Orthosis:
Floor Reaction Design
- Dampens and redirects GRF through forward progression for
smoother and more efficient gait
- Dual medial and lateral stirrups support mid-foot and transfers
GRF to toe lever
Adjustable range of motion and dynamic response for
stance
- Dorsiflexion and plantarflexion range from 040 degrees
- Adjustable response at initial contact and terminal stance
- Adjustable dampening muscle compensation
Prevents toe drag
- Returns ankle to neutral and assist foot clearance during
swing
- Improve initial contact and stabilize ankle complex
For more information, contact:
Ultraflex Systems Inc.
800.220.6670
www.ultraflexsystems.com

Comfort Products is the first company to
incorporate silver yarn into a sheath product.
Embedded with X-Static® silver yarn, Comfort's
Silver Liner SheathTM helps eliminate
skin problems common to many liner wearers, including dermatitis,
rashes, and odor. All of this without compromising suspension!
The Silver Liner Sheath is compatible with all liners, as well
as standard prosthetic socks.
Prosthetic practitioners are advised to consider the
Silver Liner Sheath for their patients.
For more information, contact:
Comfort Products
800.822.7500
www.comfortproducts.com

SPS announces an exclusive partnership with COPE
Plastics within the O&P industry. The partnership with COPE
Plastics, an acknowledged leader in the highly competitive plastics
industry, provides SPS customers an opportunity to purchase premium
plastics at extraordinarily competitive prices through SPS' three
distribution centers.
SPS stocks O&P staples such as Copolymer,
Polypropylene, Low Density (LDPE) and High Density Polyethylene
(HDPE), Durrplex, Proflex in addition to COPE's premier
brand names, including Vivak® (PETG), Kydex®,
Surlyn®, and Proflex.
For more information, contact:
SPS
800.767.7776
www.spsco.com

Combining experience with advanced technology and
superior materials, American introduces a custom-molded leather
gauntlet for PTTD, Charcot foot, chronic ankle pain, and alignment
deformities. The American AFO is reinforced with
various materials depending on the level of support required.
American is committed to providing practitioners with choices.
The AFO Gauntlet offers four levels of support,
seven color options, and a choice of closure at any height. The
standard 1 inch padded collar provides maximum comfort. Always
known for fast turnaround, we deliver this product within 7-10
days.
For more information, contact:
American Shoe
866.620.7463