Value of Podiatry

The average person walks 100,000 miles in a lifetime.

That’s a lot of wear and tear on our feet and ankles, the unique body parts that keep America moving, active, and productive at our jobs. Doctors of podiatric medicine (DPMs) are physicians and surgeons at the forefront of delivering specialized foot and ankle care. However, not everyone is able to receive that care. Supporting legislation that recognizes podiatrists for their training, education, and experience will change that.

Facts

• Podiatrists are the best qualified medical professionals to treat the foot and ankle
• Podiatrists are essential to the treatment of patients with diabetes

Each and every day, podiatrists keep America walking by preventing higher cost critical outcomes like hospitalizations and amputations. In fact, the inclusion of care provided by podiatrists for those with diabetes alone will save our health-care system as much as $3.5 billion per year. A more recent study shows a tremendous impact from removing podiatric services from Medicaid in the state of Arizona. It is simply common sense to allow all patients access to the group of doctors who already perform the majority of foot and ankle care in the US.