Why is comparison shopping so important when it comes to prosthetic care providers? The answer is that different prosthetic care providers offer different areas of expertise. There are many clinics out there that offer great care for people with a lower limb amputation — after all, most amputations occur on the lower limbs. But we are the only prosthetic provider in the United States that specializes exclusively in upper limb. Allowing a patient to learn more about what we have to offer can mean the difference between their success with a prosthesis or abandoning it because it’s uncomfortable, not designed for their specific goals or they weren’t trained how to use it.
What we’ve found over our years of experience is that we must see the patient as a member of their own care team. We need to know what the patient wants to do after an amputation — what is their job? Do they want to get back to it? What does their home life look like? Do they have kids? What are their hobbies? In addition, letting the patient to choose can allow them some control in a process they have had very little control over so far. Facilitating them in making their own choices can help lessen their anxiety about receiving prosthetic care.
Dr. Matt Koepplinger specializes in hand and upper extremity surgery and is an assistant professor at McGovern Medical School (Houston) in the Department of Orthopedics. We asked him to tell us more about why he refers his patients to us.
One of the first reasons he brought up was how we approach our patient care: “Arm Dynamics’ initial consultations are, like, ‘Well, tell me what you like to do. Tell me what you want to do. Here are some different options that you have.’ They let the patients contribute to their care and what's going to happen next, and not just have to settle for something — and really get the very best function out of their new limb and their new life.”
Dr. Koepplinger also touched on our clinical therapy specialists, who are on-site at each of our centers, take part in each evaluation and are there for every patient appointment. “The patient just had a really devastating injury and their brain is going to basically shut everything down. The benefit of therapy is convincing the brain that this is okay. This is okay, and you engage it, engage that barrier and push it a little bit further.”
It all comes down to giving people the opportunity to be productive in the way that works for them. Allowing patients a choice about who can provide their care lets them do their research and learn how to evaluate an upper limb prosthetic provider. By letting patients choose who they work with, they not only have more control in their care process, but they have the option to find a prosthetic device (or devices) that work best for them.
Why does Dr. Koepplinger think Arm Dynamics prosthetic care is a good choice? “I refer my patients to Arm Dynamics centers because of their approach to the patients and their individual needs. They have the broadest spectrum of viable options for the patients. They have the coverage for therapy in conjunction with prosthetic care — I can't say that for any other company. It's truly a team approach, including the patient. There's no settling. I think that's what you would want for any friend or a family member that had this problem.”
In the video below, you'll hear from another doctor, Dr. Dolan, about why he refers all his patients to Arm Dynamics centers:
We offer complimentary consultations, either in-person or via telehealth, to all patients and their physician(s). Please contact us if you’d like to see how we can help. Or leave us a comment below, letting us know why you think comparison shopping is important when it comes to prosthetic care providers. Thanks!
For more information, see related articles here:
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