APMA News - March/April 2022 - 13

picture of what podiatric medicine and surgery
have to offer.
While we contemplate our future, I can assure
you that other health-care professions with less
education and training are actively and aggressively
advancing their professions in this increasingly
competitive health-care market. We must
find ways to adjust to new payment models such
as value- and outcome-based payment programs.
We must not be left behind. Inaction is not an
option. It will only weaken our profession, and
ultimately negatively affect our patients. They too
are counting on us.
So let's all agree we have much work to do
together. But let's look at all the work we have
done with our current five strategic pillars at APMA,
established in 2015 and updated again in 2018.
The first pillar is Advocate. So whether we have
parity issues with federal health care, with private
health systems, or with patient access to our foot
and ankle care, APMA will advocate on our members'
behalf. When our legislative goals, including
the HELLPP [Helping Ensure Life- and Limb-Saving
Access to Podiatric Physicians] Act, need a champion,
APMA will advocate on your behalf. Then there
are those states-Alabama, Massachusetts, and
Mississippi-that desperately need to modernize
their practice acts. APMA will advocate for them
also. Those states' patients are suffering because
we cannot provide the services they desperately
need, and the Center for Professional Advocacy is
working tirelessly on their behalf.
Pillar two is Educate. Not only does APMA
educate our members, but also consumers,
health-care providers, legislators, and communities.
Whether our members need a cutting-edge
virtual education experience with just-in-time
learning or a traditional opportunity to learn and
network together in person, APMA will educate.
Our Online CECH has expanded the unmatched
educational portfolio long established by The
National. Whether a member needs information on
governmental programs or coding via podcasts or
webinars, APMA will educate. When our members
depend on public knowledge of podiatric medicine
and surgery to fill their waiting rooms, APMA will
educate. When we need to ensure a sustainable
future pool of prospective students for our schools,
APMA will educate. When our educators need to
hone their skills, APMA will educate!
Pillar three is Research. This pillar can't be emphasized
enough. Research is becoming more and
more essential in proving our worth, not only in the
existing fee-for-service health-care model but in
the rapidly evolving value-based care models. The
current discrepancies in research are being used
against the profession with legislators, insurance
companies, and federal health-care plans. We must
step up our efforts and increase research in our
field to prove why our services are essential in this
aggressively changing health-care environment.
The APMA Registry is now beginning to produce
meaningful data, which has exciting implications
for the future. But the role of robust research cannot
be overstated. The APMA Registry will be only
as good as its contents. APMA has made a significant
commitment to the registry, so we must make
it the best it can be to help fuel quality outcomes
data and research. I commend those state components
that are currently engaged in pilot programs
and other studies designed to collect and produce
much-needed data for our profession.
Pillar four is Lead. APMA will continue to lead
with the highly successful multimedia Step Into
Podiatry campaign. The campaign, despite seeing
a significant decline in funding from the profession,
continues to produce outstanding results:
We've reached more than 18 million prospective
students, generated nearly 350,000 visits to the
Step Into Podiatry website, and driven nearly 1,400
mentor requests. When our current students need
scholarships to ease their financial burdens, APMA
will lead, with more than $419,000 awarded this
past year. Whether we encounter state-by-state
APMA.ORG
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APMA News - March/April 2022

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