Working with Healthcare Providers
Working Together: Healthcare Providers and Pedorthists
As part of the Canadian healthcare team, Pedorthists consult with patients based on referrals from physicians, nurse practitioners and other healthcare professionals.
A Canadian Certified Pedorthist – C. Ped (C) - is one of the very few healthcare professionals who are educated and tested in how to assess, modify, design and fit both custom-made orthotics and footwear.
Additionally, Canadian Certified Pedorthists are unique from other orthotic experts because they do not both prescribe the treatment and provide the treatment for their clients - similar to the relationship between a physician and pharmacist. This helps eliminate potential conflict of interest, as a patient can choose who will provide the treatment recommended by their physician. Even more importantly, the collaboration of healthcare professionals from different disciplines ensures a high-level of quality in patient care.
Including a Canadian Certified Pedorthist in a patient’s healthcare team, adds specialist expertise in mechanical foot pain such as gait problems and pressure points. Once prescribed by a physician, Canadian Certified Pedorthists spend up to one hour in their initial patient assessment to look at the whole ‘mechanical foot’ picture and then provide the correct treatment in collaboration with the patient’s referring physician.
For real life examples of pedorthic management at work click here