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My name is John Mishasek, and I own a pedorthic comfort shoe store, an O&P business, and a therapeutic shoe supply business in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The synergy of the three businesses helps us to offer referred patients better outcomes and better choices. We refer a significant percentage of our customers to local podiatrists, and we get patients sent to us by half of the podiatrists in our community of 600,000+ individuals. Much of our work is in diabetic footwear or for care of arthritic conditions, for foot deformities, and to use with functional orthotics supplied by the podiatrist to their patients. Our certified orthotist makes custom AFO's for PTTD or hyperpronation control. Our biggest challenge is finding good staff to support the growth that is occurring in our businesses. While there are other certified pedorthists in the area, most seem narrowly focused on just O&P or just orthotics or just retail customer service. So finding pedorthic staff that can move from retail to medical and back has been challenging. we would like to find individuals to train in pedorthics but even that is difficult. Thanks for the opportunity to participate in this forum.

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John - WELCOME ... look forward to your contributions.

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better outcomes? better choices?

Hi John, I'm a pedorthist working in my own UK retail business but with aspirations to become more involved with local health authorities (v frustrating). I'm interested to know what sort of salary 'package' you offer prospective staff who you'd like to move between the retail and medical parts of your business?
Fergus Paton

Based on work experience and track record of succes, we offer starting salary of $32,000 to $35,000 per year. On top of the base salary, we offer a quarterly bonus based on company reaching its financial targets for renenues, cost of goods sold, and profitability. This bonus can double a CPed's compensation. What we also struggle with here is health insurance. We used to offer it but it got so bloody expensive that we had to drop it as a benefit. For employees who had been with us, we gave them a flat $150.00 a month towards purchasing their own policy. That way they could pick a plan they liked versus us picking on that they did not like to deductibles, copay, etc. We have not been offering new hires this extra $150 per month for health insurance but may need to go back to it. We were seeing double digit increases in premiums when we offered group insurance and no one was using that much health care services. It is the craziness of American health insurance costs making small businesses not be able to offer group insurance benefits. As for working with your "local health authorities", there are days we wonder why we stay in the billing of therapeutic shoes with our business but when all is said and done, it offers alternative to the craziness of retail. Slower seasonal time for retail, we can schedule more therapeutic shoe patients for delivery of their footwear and to bill to their insurance plan.

hello Would you tell me how can I get " larva" to use it at my private clinic in Syria – Damascus thank you
Dr George Awad

Hi Fergus
Are you attending the Atlanta conference this year ???
if so maybe we can meet up

Regards
Paul
podiatrist/c.ped UK

I am not planning on attending the PFA meeting in Atlanta at this time. Due to the PFA response to Medicare's inquiry about the shoe inventory, I do not wish to support PFA financially and have dropped my membership and will seek to get my CEP's at any other BCP approved seminars.

Hi John

being in the UK, Medicare and their decisions, re footwear, is not something that has any impact on my practice, I have attended the last 2 meetings, Florida and Indi, and found them excellent learning events.
I have regular contact with a C.Ped colleague in CT and his main issues are shoe companies, who supply him, sell their shoes direct over the internet to the general public

regards
Paul

Paul,

I'm just starting to look into attending my first US conference, but I need to spend some time looking into any funding that might be available to help cover the costs - any suggestions? Are you aware of any UK-based training that has been awarded CEP points? On the face of it November in Atlanta would suit me and, yes, it would be good to meet up there if it works out.

regards
Fergus

Hi Fergus

i believe there are several ways of gaining cped points, which were issues i raised with Mr Ernesto Castro, if you look at the web site, bcp, you are able to gain cped points without going to the USA, i'm not aware of any funding available to help towards attending the seminars in the USA, unless, i believe, your in a manufacturing based industry and employ people, thats just my understanding of it
If you are dealing in footwear ie, orthotic friendly, take a look at Reed medical, they are very helpful in many ways, 01254 503333 www.reeco.co.uk they have just supplied me with a fitting stock of shoes to get sizing right before ordering for patients

regards
Paul