<h4>What About the Consumer?</h4> <b>To the Editor:</b> I read with great interest Miki Fairley's feature article in your July issue, "Commoditization vs. Customization: Are Trends in O&P Affecting You?" I found the unbiased approach to eliciting multiple views of the article's core issue thought-provoking and enlightening. As I read, however, I was surprised by the noticeable omission of the consumer's opinion. Okay, call me biased. After all, I am a consumer. And furthermore, this is an industry-directed publication. But, step back for a moment and give some thought to my observation. You have challenged a variety of industry executives and O&P professionals by asking, "What about you?" You write, "It all boils down to know your business. Don't just assume that because you are a good practitioner, you will succeed. Don't assume that if you just keep doing what you are doing, this too [current challenges] will pass. Know your business inside and out. Know the numbers. Know who is doing what and why." It seems obvious to me then, if you are to know your business inside and out, that you also would include, and hopefully value, the opinion of the foundation of your business...the consumer. How else will you know what we need and want, what we would like to see changed, and what we may be willing to pay for...if you don't ask us? In the end, "Trends in the O&P Industry" affect each of us, perhaps in very different ways, but definitely, in very personal ways. <i><b>Kathleen Spozio Shippenville, PA</b></i> <h4>O&P Education Efforts Move Forward in Colombia</h4> <b>To the Editor:</b> This letter is to let you know about some wonderful O&P developments in Colombia. Through the energetic leadership and cooperation of a number of people, progress is being made toward the establishment of high-quality O&P education in that country. The O&P education program at Don Bosco University in El Salvador is, of course, a bright O&P education light in Latin America. There also are the important programs in Mexico and Argentina, but there is a desperate need for many more such programs. The most active leadership has been provided by Jose Miguel Gomez, MD, Gustavo Malagón, MD, and Kevin Meade, PhD. Gomez is a native Colombian physician, trained in orthotics at Century College and now living and working in Houston. Malagón is a Colombian orthopedic surgeon, trained in the US and now rector of Fundación Escuela Colombiana De Rehabilitación, also known as EPC. Meade is a professor of Mechanical Engineering at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) and trained in orthotics at Northwestern University. These three men, and a host of helpers, organized an orthotic-prosthetic scientific conference held in Bogotá May 15 through 18. The conference was titled "Biomecánicas Avanzadas en el Tratamiento De Patologías Deformativas del Sistema Osteomuscular." It was attended by about 170 people, including practicing orthotists, prosthetists, therapists, and physicians from Bogotá (a city of ten million people). Some students and professors (engineering and design) from other Bogotá Universities also attended. <img class="" style="float: right;" src="https://opedge.com/Content/OldArticles/images/2006-09_05/5-1.jpg" width="286" height="160" hspace="4" vspace="4" /> The conference, which included patient evaluation, casting, and fitting portions, as well as practical theory, was a resounding success. However, what was even more important was that it was a focus of cooperation between people of several organizations. It stimulated excitement, additional discussions, and visions of what better O&P education could accomplish to improve orthopedic/rehabilitation care in Colombia. It now appears that O&P education programs will be established in both Centro Don Bosco, in Bogotá, and at Escuela Colombiana de Rehabilitación (ECR), also in Bogotá. The Centro Don Bosco program will be oriented toward technician training. The program at ECR will be more tailored to training clinical practitioners. ECR currently educates all of the rehabilitation professional specialties (physical therapy, occupational therapy, audiology, speech therapy, etc.) and has a patient care component. Both Don Bosco and ECR will draw upon the considerable professional resources available in Bogotá, but they also will benefit from the help and cooperation we can provide from the North. I sincerely hope we will support these programs in a variety of ways. Sincerely, <b><i>J. Martin Carlson, CPO Tamarack President Blaine, MN</i></b> P.S. My daughter accompanied me to Bogotá for this conference and sightseeing opportunities. We traveled around much of Bogotá and into the countryside in the vicinity. We always experienced wonderful hospitality and very friendly people. We felt entirely safe at all times.
<h4>What About the Consumer?</h4> <b>To the Editor:</b> I read with great interest Miki Fairley's feature article in your July issue, "Commoditization vs. Customization: Are Trends in O&P Affecting You?" I found the unbiased approach to eliciting multiple views of the article's core issue thought-provoking and enlightening. As I read, however, I was surprised by the noticeable omission of the consumer's opinion. Okay, call me biased. After all, I am a consumer. And furthermore, this is an industry-directed publication. But, step back for a moment and give some thought to my observation. You have challenged a variety of industry executives and O&P professionals by asking, "What about you?" You write, "It all boils down to know your business. Don't just assume that because you are a good practitioner, you will succeed. Don't assume that if you just keep doing what you are doing, this too [current challenges] will pass. Know your business inside and out. Know the numbers. Know who is doing what and why." It seems obvious to me then, if you are to know your business inside and out, that you also would include, and hopefully value, the opinion of the foundation of your business...the consumer. How else will you know what we need and want, what we would like to see changed, and what we may be willing to pay for...if you don't ask us? In the end, "Trends in the O&P Industry" affect each of us, perhaps in very different ways, but definitely, in very personal ways. <i><b>Kathleen Spozio Shippenville, PA</b></i> <h4>O&P Education Efforts Move Forward in Colombia</h4> <b>To the Editor:</b> This letter is to let you know about some wonderful O&P developments in Colombia. Through the energetic leadership and cooperation of a number of people, progress is being made toward the establishment of high-quality O&P education in that country. The O&P education program at Don Bosco University in El Salvador is, of course, a bright O&P education light in Latin America. There also are the important programs in Mexico and Argentina, but there is a desperate need for many more such programs. The most active leadership has been provided by Jose Miguel Gomez, MD, Gustavo Malagón, MD, and Kevin Meade, PhD. Gomez is a native Colombian physician, trained in orthotics at Century College and now living and working in Houston. Malagón is a Colombian orthopedic surgeon, trained in the US and now rector of Fundación Escuela Colombiana De Rehabilitación, also known as EPC. Meade is a professor of Mechanical Engineering at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) and trained in orthotics at Northwestern University. These three men, and a host of helpers, organized an orthotic-prosthetic scientific conference held in Bogotá May 15 through 18. The conference was titled "Biomecánicas Avanzadas en el Tratamiento De Patologías Deformativas del Sistema Osteomuscular." It was attended by about 170 people, including practicing orthotists, prosthetists, therapists, and physicians from Bogotá (a city of ten million people). Some students and professors (engineering and design) from other Bogotá Universities also attended. <img class="" style="float: right;" src="https://opedge.com/Content/OldArticles/images/2006-09_05/5-1.jpg" width="286" height="160" hspace="4" vspace="4" /> The conference, which included patient evaluation, casting, and fitting portions, as well as practical theory, was a resounding success. However, what was even more important was that it was a focus of cooperation between people of several organizations. It stimulated excitement, additional discussions, and visions of what better O&P education could accomplish to improve orthopedic/rehabilitation care in Colombia. It now appears that O&P education programs will be established in both Centro Don Bosco, in Bogotá, and at Escuela Colombiana de Rehabilitación (ECR), also in Bogotá. The Centro Don Bosco program will be oriented toward technician training. The program at ECR will be more tailored to training clinical practitioners. ECR currently educates all of the rehabilitation professional specialties (physical therapy, occupational therapy, audiology, speech therapy, etc.) and has a patient care component. Both Don Bosco and ECR will draw upon the considerable professional resources available in Bogotá, but they also will benefit from the help and cooperation we can provide from the North. I sincerely hope we will support these programs in a variety of ways. Sincerely, <b><i>J. Martin Carlson, CPO Tamarack President Blaine, MN</i></b> P.S. My daughter accompanied me to Bogotá for this conference and sightseeing opportunities. We traveled around much of Bogotá and into the countryside in the vicinity. We always experienced wonderful hospitality and very friendly people. We felt entirely safe at all times.