Diabetes is reaching epidemic proportions in the United States. During
the past decade there has been an increase of 33% with the
diabetic population currently topping 15 million people. There are
many complications
associated with diabetes including kidney, heart, vision, circulatory
and foot problems. The good news is that many of these potential
problems can be minimized as a result of life style changes,
medications and other preventive care.
Amputations, or partial amputations, of the feet and legs are
also growing at an alarming rate. In fact, it is the leading
cause of non-traumatic amputation in the United States. Recently,
a task force was created by officials from Medicare, the American
Podiatric Medical Association and the American Diabetes Association
in order to explore ways to reduce the number of amputations
in the diabetic populations. The number of these lower extremity
amputations grew by 28% in just the past several years. However,
it has been determined that over half of these amputations
could have been prevented by timely conservative footcare.
Dr. Howard Schaengold of Sammamish, WA has recently become part
of a national network of podiatric physicians providing protective
foot care for diabetic patients who may be at risk. Medicare
coverage for protective footwear and shoe inserts has helped
to reduce foot complications. As an authorized Medicare supplier,
Dr. Schaengold is qualified to evaluate, prescribe and dispense
these protective products to patients. Dr. Schaengold states, “Hardly
any patients are aware of the Medicare coverage for preventive
care.” Dr. Schaengold goes on to say that “as a
result of this lack of awareness, roughly 3% of the population
who may be qualified to receive the Medicare footwear benefit
actually do.” Anyone interested in learning more about
the program or wishing to find out if they qualify for these
benefits are welcome to contact Dr. Schaengold’s office
at 425-868-3338.
