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Is nail surgery for private practice a dead dog?

Discussion in 'United Kingdom' started by Disgruntled pod, Dec 19, 2009.

  1. Disgruntled pod

    Disgruntled pod Active Member


    Members do not see these Ads. Sign Up.
    Do others feel that nail sugery for private practise is a dead dog? The problem is that GPs are doing it more and more. yes, they have a high re-growth rate, but you try telling the customer that!
     
  2. cornmerchant

    cornmerchant Well-Known Member

    Disgruntled pod

    I do nail surgery as and when, it is not a great money spinner but I love doing it and keep my hand in.
    It all comes down to money- if the patient can get it for free they will, and of course the GPs get paid for doing it I guess! They do not use phenol as far as I know, so regrowth is a problem and we end up with them anyway!
    There is always going to be some need in PP for nail surgery, hence I will keep up to date with LA and life support.

    Cornmerchant
     
  3. DaVinci

    DaVinci Well-Known Member

    There is an issue in Australia where the GP gets reimbursed through medicare for nail surgery and the podiatrist does not. As you allude to above, its a shame that reimbursrment is not going to those with better outcomes. There wasa comment about it in this thread: http://www.podiatry-arena.com/podiatry-forum/showthread.php?t=41737
     
  4. kitos

    kitos Active Member

    Not for me it isn't. I've done 10 this year with 3 lined up for early next year.

    A lot of patients have either gone through the GP/re growth and infection scenario but most of mine just want it done in their time scale by someone they know and trust.

    Best wishes
    Nick
     
  5. Tony Mason

    Tony Mason Member

    Done by a Podiatrist with the skills our profession has developed , we can almost guarantee our Patient that there will be no post-op infection or regrowth.

    Done by most GP´s with a 20G needle and a pair of spencer wells that they shove under the nail and then open them up to avulse it . Followed up by the use of an an old bottle of Pink Phenol from the cupboard, no wonder the Customer is not satisfied.

    It is certainly not dead in my neck of the woods. patients talk to others.
    it is the best form of advertising.
     
  6. roger2shirts

    roger2shirts Active Member

    Consider in dentistry the concept of root canal treatment; its is expensive, painful and has a high risk of failure. Yet it is the mainstay of private practice!
    So why can a private podiatrist not "sell it"?
    Yes GPs have a go, but if you want to engage in "sobbing about the GP" you miss the patient who wants a procedure done properly with proper after care with a high success rate.
    Look at yourself and what you actually are offering and if you don't like what you see change it!
     
  7. Dido

    Dido Active Member

    Disgruntled Pod,
    It's definitely not a "dead dog" it's part of our skill bank and one of the areas that raises our game above that of the "cut-and-come-again" brigade.
    I have lost count of the numbers of patients I have seen who have spent months and pounds going to one of these practitioners with no resolution of o/h o/c or involuted nails.
    When they find out that their condition can be cured very simply using LA they are both pleased with the result and annoyed that they were never referred on.
    The GPs may be offering a quick fix for free, but if there is no permanent cure then the patient will soon find their way into our surgeries.

    Dido
     
  8. Brummy Pod

    Brummy Pod Active Member

    "I have lost count of the numbers of patients I have seen who have spent months and pounds going to one of these practitioners with no resolution of o/h o/c or involuted nails.
    When they find out that their condition can be cured very simply using LA they are both pleased with the result and annoyed that they were never referred on."

    2 year ago, I was observing nail surgery all day in an NHS clinic. 4 patients that day did not have nail surgery done on them. All they needed was simple conservative care to clear out the sulci and/or reduce the nail with a burr.

    All 4 patients had had a "chiropodist" who did home visits, who could not help them anymore withe the problem. Now, its' all very well saying, "have treatment in the comfort of your own home" but if you cannot provide the same level of service as a practitioner who can, you may as well not provide the service.
     
  9. Dido

    Dido Active Member

    .

    Brummy Pod,
    I totally agree and the patients I am referring to were not treated by a pod but by unregulated practitioners ( most by one particular person).
    This brings us back to the topic of unregulated practitioners being reluctant to refer on. This has been discussed at great length here and on other forums without any sound conclusion.

    Dido
     
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