Last month, I was grateful to be invited by the American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association (AOPA) to co-lead a special panel discussion on using the O&P profession’s benchmarking data at their National Assembly. The benchmarking data was the result of AOPA’s 2024 O&P Benefits, Compensation & Operations Survey, which we carried out earlier this year. Data works best with context — the other panelists were Coleson Chase (VP and General Manager at SPS) and Scott Williamson (executive Director at OPIE.), both respected professionals in the field of orthotics and prosthetics. We were able to give attendees, many of whom are practitioners and clinic owners, practical insights on using business metrics to improve their bottom line with the highlights, trends and insights from the survey. The attendees were very engaged with the findings around hiring patterns, business practices, financial indicators and industry concerns.
During my time at the conference, I was impressed by the cutting edge technology and the innovative and life-changing work that prosthetists, orthotists and surgeons do for patient care. For example, Alexander Gardetto MD explained the phantom limb condition and showed how surgical procedures can recover most of a patient’s nerves back into the remaining arm. These procedures help patients with pain as well as facilitating prosthetics. There were stories of patients who had lost limbs being able to make lattes again, or competing on the world stage in snowboarding. Stories like this were truly inspiring.
The US Veterans Affairs Office also provides O&P services with one person in charge of the program outcome who has developed a robust patient satisfaction survey. He used the survey in conjunction with geographic information system (GIS) data to inform gaps in service around the country, which was fascinating. He was able to generate a network map by superimposing the data onto a US map, all within excel.
The conference was held in Charlotte, Virginia, which offered a cultural experience on two sides. On one hand there were three days of amazing food. I tried grits for the first time in my life and it was delicious. I also had fried chicken more times than the number of days I stayed in Charlotte. On the other hand is the history of enslaved people that drove the tobacco and cotton industry of the US South. I don’t condone smoking, but one interesting way the event shared this history with the attendees was inviting a cigar company to demonstrate how cigars are rolled, and then giving them out.
On a tangential note, during the trip I also learned that Lego vending machines exist.
This was a professional conference and I received many education credits for attending sessions. Now I am not sure whether I am an apprentice O and P! I am incredibly grateful to the AOPA team for inviting me to co-present and deepen my knowledge in this fascinating field.
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