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Hi everyone,

I have been noticing more and more new clinics/businesses that claim to be podiatry-based, but are started up by business people who has no background in health science.
Their business models seems to be based upon utilising people's private health podiatry cover to prescribe everyone orthotics, therefore enticing customers by packaging it with free shoes + free consults.

I'm just wondering what everyone's thoughts are on these new businesses?

 

They must be very expensive orthotics if they can give away free shoes and consult with them?

 

I'd be interested to see how they manage to claim on health funds where the provider doesn't have a provider number?

 

If its who l think it is, they have Podiatrist on staff.

How are they marketing these "Packages/Bundles" to include the freebies?

 

I thought we weren't allowed to offer freebies? Maybe i am wrong

 

Well, sounds like these business ideas hasn't fully gotten out in the podiatry community yet... To me it sounds very suss and I feel like it damages the profession's integrity.

In a nut shell, from what I gather of the people who has been to one of these places... they basically attract customers/patients by providing a package of "free podiatry consult + cheap OTS or custom orthotics + free shoes and the business would use all of the customer's podiatry cover for the year in one go --- I presume purely by putting through a podiatry/orthotics claim.

Majority of the customers are ones that are asymptomatic, but are paying yearly for health insurance that has podiatry cover that they do not use... So in essence they are getting a 'free' pair of shoes which is paid for by claiming a pair of orthoses.

As I said before, I feel like it's all a bit dodgy and I'm not sure if its even ethical and wonder if the podiatry board knows about these businesses...?