Stepping Forward: Understanding Prosthetics and Orthotics – Part Two: Tech, Kids, Families, and Perspectives

In Part Two of Stepping Forward: Understanding Prosthetics and Orthotics, Jason Auyer, LCPO and owner of Alliance Prosthetics and Orthotics, once again joins us to explore the intersection of technology, care, and compassion in the world of prosthetics and orthotics. Jason shares insights into the latest innovations shaping the field, and we dive into how these advancements are making a difference. We also discuss what it means to truly support families navigating these journeys, and how our company is committed to communicating hope, one patient at a time.

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Guest: Jason Auyer, LCPO, Owner of Alliance Prosthetics and Orthotics

Host: Rachael Auyer, Co-Owner of Alliance Prosthetics and Orthotics

Producer: Laine Johnson

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:04

On today's episode, we're picking up where we left off. If you missed our first episode in the series, stop this podcast right now and go back. The links are in the description. We'd love for you to get caught up. Today we're going to cover tech, kids, families, and perspectives. You are in for a treat. Thanks so much for joining us. As you know, technology is consistently advancing, and there's some new devices on the horizon orthotically as well as prosthetically. So tell us which ones you're most excited about.

SPEAKER_00 0:42

Wow. So there's a lot of amazing new technology that seems to come out, you know, monthly, sometimes, you know, annually. I mean, there's a lot of new things that are happening. So some of it, a lot of times, is technology that's actually been there for a while, but it just has not been commercially available. So I'll I'll give an example of that. So there is a device called the MyoPro. The MyOPro is an upper extremity orthotic device. So upper extremity is just referring to your arm. This device is made for people that have weakness with utilizing their elbow, moving at the elbow, or being able to grasp objects. So think about if you've ever seen a patient who's had a stroke, maybe their arm is kind of uh flexed at the elbow and their their wrist is kind of turned down and they're they've got a closed fist position. And if they were to try on their own to open up, stretch out at their elbow or open up their hand, they would have a lot of difficulty doing that. And so what this device does is it has what's called a surface electrode. So it's nothing that's kind of you know inside the body, but it's on the surface of your skin. And every time we have a a muscle that we're utilizing, there's an electrical output that comes from that muscle. Um and so it is sensing, they're called EMG signals. So it's sensing those signals, taking that, and then bringing that to a motor that would you know be able to extend the arm, flex the arm, or open and close at the fingers. So this patient who on that side, that say is the right side, that they couldn't utilize that arm, now they have the opportunity or the possibility that they could open up, they could grasp an object. Think about how many times you need two hands to do something, from eating to folding clothes, you know, being able to hold on to a paper with one hand, and so you could open the door with your other hand. I mean, so many things that we do with two hands that can be very, very challenging for that type of patient. So that's on the orthotic side. On the prosthetic side, some of the newer technology that's coming out is around powered devices. And so with people that are missing their legs, it can be very challenging for them to be able to navigate, say, like going upstairs or even getting out of a chair. When we're getting out of a chair, we bend at our knees and we are pushing up through our quadricep muscle to extend our knee to be able to stand. Imagine that you are missing both of your legs below your knees. You do not have a knee. There's no way for you to power up on your own. You're having to use your hands and try and pull yourself up. Try that. Try to get out of a chair without using your legs at all and see how difficult that is. So there's some newer technology that is being utilized a little bit more now called uh powered knees or power technology where the patient is able to, um, with kind of some different inputs, literally put some pressure through their prosthesis and it will power them up, it will stand them up, and they're not even having to use their hands to be able to do this, which is an amazing thing to be able to do. You think about how many times that we are in a seat and we need to stand up, how many times you do that throughout the day. So that's uh another bit of technology that is being more widely used now.

SPEAKER_01 4:01

That is so exciting. I'm already thinking of some people who would benefit from those uh that have walked through our office, and so looking forward to seeing you fit those. Um I wanted to transition.

unknown 4:14

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 4:14

So one of the things that we care so much about is the quality of care. Tell us and tell our listeners why is quality, prosthetic, and orthotic care so crucial to individuals who need these devices.

SPEAKER_00 4:31

So you know, you think about anyone that you're working with, whether uh a doctor, uh physical therapist, even you go to your dentist or you go to any of these people, you go to your hairdresser, right? You want to be able to trust the person who's on the other side. So any orthopedist, any prosthetist, for the most part here in the US has access to the same technology. Not not completely, but broad strokes, yes. And so if that's the case, well then why would someone want to go to one clinic more than another? And I think it's that personalized care. You want to make sure that the person you're talking to and explaining this life-altering situation that you're going through, this tragedy that you've endured, is not just wanting to fit you with a device and kind of kick you out the door. When we fit patients and work with them, and I think this is important for any good orthodist and prosthetist, it's not just the physical that we're having to treat. As much as the physical is, yes, that's the device we're providing for us so that we can help out this physical uh issue, this strength problem. Patients are coming in and they've gone through a tragedy. There's an emotional component to that, there's a mental component to that, where if we're not seeing that as an orthodist and a prosthetist, we are uh not serving the patient appropriately. And so there's times that we're going to spend appointments with patients that we're just we're talking, we're going through and and how is life looking different? I tell all of our clinicians when someone's coming in and seeing us for the first time, we have five to ten minutes to help establish trust with that patient. Um, because they're coming in sometimes with kind of closed fists and they're nervous. They don't know, can I entrust my care to this individual? And so I think that's something that's very important. Very important that you take the time to get to know your patient, um, and as a patient, that you feel comfortable with the person on the other side who's speaking to you, uh, that they are really hearing you, not just going through the steps to again provide a device and get you out the door.

SPEAKER_01 6:30

No, I I have definitely enjoyed watching the growth of our company, serve a wider volume, diversity uh of patient profiles, and how you have instructed our staff to care for each person on an individual level. That has been a really fun thing for me to watch personally. Um, I thought you could potentially share maybe a few stories. Think about a mom or a dad, their child is in need of an orthotic or prosthetic device, and some things that you want to make sure every parent hears if they're considering alliance.

SPEAKER_00 7:06

I think, you know, one of the things that I would want any parent to hear uh is that they're not alone. And why I say that is when a patient is coming in here, a child is coming in here, I want the mom and the dad to know that it's not that you're on team alliance, but we're on your team. Going through something like that with a child can be very, very challenging. And it is a non-stop 24-7 kind of situation that parents are going through. Parenting, I Rachel and I, we are four boys. We parenting is hard enough, right? Um but when you feel isolated, when you feel that you're the only one, you're on your own, that no one is going to fight for my child like I am, no one's gonna um come alongside and fight with me, um, that would be the first thing I'd want them to know is that we are on their team. So we're fighting for your your child. I think the other thing is to know that there is always hope. One of the our goals is for every patient we see that we communicate hope. Um because again, people are coming in that they are broken and they've gone through a tragedy, and so we want to partner with the families, not just with the patient. Um to me, any time that I have taken my son uh to a medical professional, if they love my son really well, they're loving me well. They're caring for my son really well, they're caring for me. And so that's the first thing. I want parents to see that we're connecting with that child. We we care for your child, we're so glad that they're there. We need to be able to explain this device and how all this works, not only to you as the parent, but also we need to get your child as much as we can excited about doing this too. Uh my joke is as much as we love what we do we do, people are not banging down our doors to have their kiddos fit with braces, right, or orthotic devices or any of these sorts of things, or prosthetic devices. Um, but if these devices are a tool to help them achieve their mobility and functional goals, and we can rally the family, the patient behind that, that's a huge win.

SPEAKER_01 9:11

No, I've seen you do that, and I love how our clinicians treat families, especially our babies. I have really enjoyed watching the cranial remolding helmet process unfold as there's been so many cutie pies that are gold digger banquet, and they are infants essentially, and then by the time the banquet shows up, they're walking or they're basically toddlers.

SPEAKER_00 9:35

Well, and you know, it's fun. We were we were at church, I don't know, this must have been six or seven years ago, and in front of us, like, geez, this couple looks very familiar, but I didn't recognize the child. And so usually I'm like, well, you know, I guess it wasn't someone I saw at the office, and then they turned around and they reintroduced themselves to me, because this was a kiddo that I had seen maybe six years ago and had fit with a cranial remolding orthosis. Um and it was just amazing to see because we're seeing them when they're when they're babies, right? We're seeing them when they're infants. And of course I looked at the head and like, hey, that's a good looking head right there. You know, I don't know who they who they worked with.

SPEAKER_01 10:08

I feel like you can spot all of the cranial babies you've treated on the street. You know a head shape when you see it. Yeah. It's pretty wild.

SPEAKER_00 10:16

Um but but it is. Again, that um each person that comes in, whether in this situation, thinking about kids, whether their child has cerebral palsy and are nonverbal and use a wheelchair for the majority of the time and a standard and therapies and all these things, or someone comes in and they have what's you know called plagiocephaly, uh deformational plagiocephaly, which is what we would use this cranial remolding orthosis for. The first patient, cerebral palsy, that's lifelong. That is forever that they're dealing with this. The plagiocephaly patient, we might have them with this cranial remolding orthosis in four, three to five months. They could be done, and that's it. But that's still a tragedy that they're having to go through. To that parent, that is still a huge deal. You don't want anything wrong with your child. And so we want to make sure that every patient that comes in, we're treating them, knowing that for that patient coming in, we're not going to compare them to any other patient. Their patient story is unique. We're going to treat them uniquely and we're going to come alongside them uniquely.

SPEAKER_01 11:23

I think that's been another thing I've watched, not just you, our other clinicians and staff members, and how they take the circumstances surrounding a patient and really put that into the plan of care as well as how we communicate. I know one of the the things as a parent myself, I love text messaging. I know that's such a small thing, but that advancement in technology to have a clinician or a medical provider or front office staff just simply remind me of things through text. Is there been some advancement in technology in communication that you have really loved? I'm thinking uh some of the initial evals you're able to FaceTime or different things that you guys have utilized to make sure parents don't have to come in for so many appointments.

SPEAKER_00 12:11

Sure. So I think one of the things we try and do is see how can we couple appointments with other medical professionals so we're not doing the same thing twice. And one of the things I think that I'm most excited about currently is our third office that we just opened is in Mulberry. And we are right next door in the same building with Tender Ones Therapy Services. Uh they are some of the best at being able to treat kiddos that are going through different issues and problems that we would also see them for orthotically. And so why we put that clinic right there is so sometimes these kiddos are having to go two, three times a week. Sometimes they'll do what's called intensives, that it could be a two to three week every day, three hours a day that they're doing these therapies. Um if we can be right there next door that sometimes we come over and see them at the same time in the same place, right? Um, or if they're just having to walk next door to um our our office there, um, it can save parents tons of time of having to go around all these different spots. I think you know, getting with technology, you know, whether with with FaceTime or different things that we can do in a HIPAA compliant uh situation where we can find out from that therapist what's going on with this patient, what's going on with this kiddo, and start to formulate the plan even before they come and see us. The reason why that's so important is most insurances we have to get authorization for the devices that we provide. So just because you come and see us for initial eval today, it doesn't mean we can start on your device today. When we go through insurance, we need authorization. There's paperwork, there's prescriptions, there's waiting for the insurance company. It is a process. So what if we could truncate or shorten that process by starting it earlier? So even before we've casted or taken an impression of the patient for their device, we've started that initial evaluation, gathered the information, got all the documentation so we could submit this to the insurance company. So we're not having to wait that extra amount of time to get the device.

SPEAKER_01 14:18

Were you inspired or challenged today? If so, connect with us. Follow the links in the description box below. We want to hear from you. Until next time, thanks for listening to the Alliance Golddigger podcast.