Podiatric Medicine NOT under the Canada Health Act

[hijinxx7]

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From the www.podiatrycanada.org website:

Why is an office fee charged to the patient?
Podiatric medicine does not fall under the Canada Health Act, therefore podiatrists receive limited or no provincial health plan coverage. As a result, podiatrists charge a fee for their services.

Are visits covered by insurance?
Many private insurance companies include podiatric services in their coverage. Please check with your individual insurance company to find out if you are covered.




I just wanted to know if anyone out there knew EXACTLY what services and what % of the cost of these services are covered by provincial insurance (OHIP in Ontario for example).

Also, how does this compare to provincial coverage for a Chiropodist in Ontario?

It seems to me that many people would not go to visit podiatrists since it is not "free" healthcare like a friendly visit to a family doctor.

 

[jefguth]

I just wanted to know if anyone out there knew EXACTLY what services and what % of the cost of these services are covered by provincial insurance (OHIP in Ontario for example).

Also, how does this compare to provincial coverage for a Chiropodist in Ontario?

It seems to me that many people would not go to visit podiatrists since it is not "free" healthcare like a friendly visit to a family doctor.

There is no podiatry/chiropdy schedule of benefits for OHIP, so basically the province does not insure visits at a private practice. There are however chiropody clinics at many hospitals (funded by the province, but not through OHIP billings) that provide free care to patients, although it seems that many of these clinics are closing under funding pressures. Still, there are a fair number of private chiropody clincs around, though I have no idea how well they are doing.

If there were an OHIP schedule of benefits the benefits would likely not be any different for podiatrists since the few remaining DPM's in Ontario are regulated by the college of chiropodists. In fact, at this time, the college does NOT license new DPM's in the province of Ontario. So probably not a good idea to go get a DPM right now if you want to practice in Ontario...🙁

 

[Podman]

There is no podiatry/chiropdy schedule of benefits for OHIP, so basically the province does not insure visits at a private practice. There are however chiropody clinics at many hospitals (funded by the province, but not through OHIP billings) that provide free care to patients, although it seems that many of these clinics are closing under funding pressures. Still, there are a fair number of private chiropody clincs around, though I have no idea how well they are doing.

If there were an OHIP schedule of benefits the benefits would likely not be any different for podiatrists since the few remaining DPM's in Ontario are regulated by the college of chiropodists. In fact, at this time, the college does NOT license new DPM's in the province of Ontario. So probably not a good idea to go get a DPM right now if you want to practice in Ontario...🙁

this topic was opened before but long story short - ontario is in the midst of alot of changes in its healthcare system - including podiatry...the DPM cap will be removed and they will practice alongside chiropodists but with more scope of practice obviously.

To the original poster, it seems that you ask those questions pertaining to ontario but haven't actually contacted an ontario DPM. My advise is to speak to Dr. Kel Sherkin and you can look up his contact info at www.opma.ca - he'll give you a better picture of what is happening and what is about to happen in the near future

 

[Podman]

From the www.podiatrycanada.org website:

Why is an office fee charged to the patient?
Podiatric medicine does not fall under the Canada Health Act, therefore podiatrists receive limited or no provincial health plan coverage. As a result, podiatrists charge a fee for their services.

Are visits covered by insurance?
Many private insurance companies include podiatric services in their coverage. Please check with your individual insurance company to find out if you are covered.

insurance covers a bit, on top of some OHIP, and cash of course - this is from my understanding at least. I can't speak on behalf of all DPMs in Ontario but I know 2 who practice there and are doing very well - one of whom has a very nice office with his own surgical suite - and he gets paid cash for all his surgeries - and to my understanding many patients don't mind paying as long as they get their foot problem fixed because believe me the family doc will not fix it most of the time.

I should tell you that they are big on orthotics in ontario - so conservative treatment has its place. Look as i mentioned before, my advise is to contact a practicing DPM from ontario and shadow or meet with them because they'll give you the most accurate picture possible - the rest here is pretty much rumors since we don't really have DPM students from ontario posting here - i'm pretty much the closest you'll see by virtue of my Canadian family in Windsor lol...anyways, i hope that helps if u have questions, feel free to pm