Diabetes Foot Specialists Say Cost-Effective Wound Therapy Underused Due to Healthcare Reimbursement Incentives

WHAT: Every 30 seconds, across the globe an individual loses a limb due to poor diabetes management. In the U.S., diabetes affects nearly 24 million people. When poorly controlled, diabetes results in nerve damage and poor circulation to the legs and feet. When this occurs, patients lose the ability to sense foot pain injury, and, when left untreated, which leads to foot ulcers, reduced mobility and amputation. *Approximately 85% of amputations are preceded by a foot ulcer that doesn’t heal.

Preventive care makes the difference. Leading podiatric experts, Dr. John S. Steinberg of Georgetown University Hospital’s Department of Surgery, and Dr. David G. Armstrong, director of the Southern Arizona Limb Salvage Alliance (SALSA), are pioneers of the “toe and flow’’ approach, which they say is more effective than repeated endovascular stent procedures. They urge a team approach to diabetic foot care and argue that current health reimbursement incentives work against delivery of evidence-based guidelines and cost-effective care.