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Post by nrsme133 on Apr 20, 2012 15:02:07 GMT -7
This is one of my questions. They will do the surgery at a teaching hospital here in Michigan (U of M) and although they have a HUGE Prosthetics department, you run the risk of not getting the same person every time as he may be done with that part of his training, so you have to start over almost every time. So, how do you find someone that you trusted to work with you? Thanks guys, I will post more questions later, but this is one of my main worries, even though I know I will have time after surgery while things heal and all.
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Post by allenuk on Apr 21, 2012 1:47:38 GMT -7
Good luck with your poll, nrsme, but things are so different here in England that I won't vote! (Our legs might sometimes be rough, but at least they're FREE).
Allen.
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Post by nrsme133 on Apr 22, 2012 1:35:20 GMT -7
Allen Tell me what you mean. Is it the insurance system, or how does it work for you? Thanks!
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Post by cherylm on Apr 22, 2012 1:39:19 GMT -7
I've had two prosthetists and both of them were referrals from my physician. I feel that I was exceptionally lucky with that, as both of them turned out to be well-established in their practice and highly gifted in their profession! Not everyone gets that lucky, and I would suggest that you do whatever you can in order to get assigned to a prosthetist with whom you can communicate openly and feel good about working with...this person should be a near-permanent part of your life.
That said, my current prosthetist does take on interns from the local university and I've worked with them. They have been quite good. However, it's a small-scale program: the practice takes on only a couple of interns at a time, and those interns work under VERY close supervision from my CPO. Sometimes "larger" does not equal "better," so keep that in mind.
It's that "huge" prosthetics department that concerns me. I know that "someone" has to be the patient in order to provide training to up-and-coming prosthetists, but I'd want to make sure that, if that "someone" were me, I'd have a good connection to a consistent, permanent supervising CPO. Just a few things to think about............
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Post by allenuk on Apr 22, 2012 3:02:57 GMT -7
It's tax based, although a pretence is maintained that it's a separate system called 'National Insurance'. All employees pay it, all their lives, and our welfare system is paid for out of the proceeds (although it's not ring-fenced, so some goes to other less honourable things).
As far as the Health Service goes, it used to be totally free, although successive non-liberal governments (you had Reagan, we had Thatcher et al) have re-introduced charges for prescriptions, dental work, and so on. But essentially, for 'medical' stuff it's still free.
Viz: you fall down in the street, breaking your leg. An ambulance is called, and rushes you (free of course) to the nearest Accident & Emergency Hospital (I think you call them Emergency Rooms). There you are treated free of charge, with painkillers, x-rays, plasters, crutches, etc., and sent home.
End of.
If you're unlucky enough to need an amputation, that is also of course free, as is subsequent prosthetic care, provision of limbs, modifications to limbs, revision surgery if you need it, etc.
The 'Cuts' (which are another and more debatable matter) have meant that prosthetic budgets have been cut back, and things take longer, appointments aren't quite as quick, and so on, but basically you still get a service, even though many in England would complain about it (then we complain about most things!)
But anyway, back to your poll - we don't get much say in our choice of prosthetists - you tend to get allocated to a 'limb-fitting centre' associated with the orthopaedic hospital which did your operation. It is possible to get transferred, but then you'd end up travelling long distances (well, in English terms, long distances). And you can of course 'go private', which over here would probably cost around $50K.
Don't forget my views are biased for all sorts of reasons...
Allen, bka, London.
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Post by ann- on Apr 22, 2012 11:29:55 GMT -7
Hi Nrsme
I am in the UK like Allen and also get my prosthetics via the NHS, like Allen says, not entirely free as it is paid for via National Insurance which working people pay into. So over here we are usually assigned to prosthetists.
Just wondering if all the prosthetists that work in your hospitals prosthetic dept., trainees. It would worry me slightly if the trainees were not supervised by more experienced prosthetists, the other thing is that you will probably find that you often need to build quite a working relationship with your prosthetist, and they need to learn what will work for you, and sometimes this takes several years or perhaps a few prostheses ... having said this though here in the UK prosthetists often move around and we have to get used to different ones.
Good luck with your surgery on the 25th.
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Post by stonecutter on Apr 22, 2012 12:33:39 GMT -7
I picked "Referred by your Physician" because I still use the same guy who worked at the rehabilitation hospital I was sent to after I got released from acute care. Very good facility with skilled staff. ...you often need to build quite a working relationship with your prosthetist, and they need to learn what will work for you, and sometimes this takes several years or perhaps a few prostheses ... I have found this to be the case. Once you get a year or five into working with him/her he/she learns what works for you, what you're expectations are, and more importantly what doesn't work for you that would work for others.
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Post by nrsme133 on May 2, 2012 19:15:36 GMT -7
Wanted to say Thank-you to all that participated, and about the "workings of Social Medicine. I am concerned that the hospital I will be at is a teaching hospital, and their Prosthesis Dept is one where you probably will never have the same person twice. So, I went out on my own and did some "interviews" with Prosthetists in my area. Come to find out, the one that I am almost sure I will work with use to run that whole Operation at the University, so he too says don't get mixed up with them. Oh, went to the Orthopedic surgeon today, and surgery isn't going to be until July 5th. He is going away the first 3 weeks of June and doesn't want a fresh AKA left for that time. So, I would like to get this over with, I am glad that he isn't going to just "dump" me on someone else while he is gone.
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