Orthotics & Prosthetics Resources
Within the HME industry, the two main member service organizations, MED Group and the VGM Group, both operate special O&P services for their members to help providers that are new to O&P expand into the sector, and to help those that are already there.
The MED Group’s Orthotics and Prosthetics Network offers various programs to support MED Group members who are already providing different levels of O&P. It also offers programs to support MED members that wish to enter the O&P space from the ground up. In that regard, it offers a Pathway program that is designed to support MED members no matter which type of O&P services they provide. MED’s O&P Network also helps members understand that, while O&P is technical in nature, so are some of the other services that they provide, and that the network can help them achieve their goals in the O&P space.
VGM’s Orthotics and Prosthetics Group of America (OPGA) is set up as standalone MSO that helps O&P providers with group purchasing, as well as insurance for product and professional liability. It also provides professional education and training services both online and face-to-face. It also helps members with marketing and provides an in-house marketing department. It also leverages VGM’s Homelink to help its members be in a network of providers for various insurance carriers and beneficiaries.
There are also two key O&P professional associations providers will want to investigate, the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists, and the American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association. Both these organizations also host annual conventions in the spring and fall, respectively.
This article originally appeared in the April 2012 issue of HME Business.