18. Are foot problems widespread?
About 19 percent of the US population has an average of 1.4 foot
problems each year.
19. Do many people have athlete's foot or other
foot infections?
About 5 percent of the US population has foot infections, including
athlete's foot, other fungal infections, and warts each year.
20. Do many people have ingrown
toenails?
About 5 percent of the US population has ingrown toenails
or other toenail problems each year.
21. Are corns and calluses common?
About 5 percent of the US population has corns or
calluses each year. Of the three major types of foot problems (infections,
toenails, and corns and calluses), people are less likely to receive
treatment for corns and calluses and more likely to continue to have corns
and calluses as a problem without treatment.
22. Do many people suffer from fallen
arches or injuries to their feet?
About 6 percent of the US population has foot injuries,
bunions, and flat feet or fallen arches each year.
23. What are the most frequently occurring
foot problems?
About 60 percent of all foot and ankle injuries, reported
by the US population older than 17, were sprains and strains of the ankle.
24. Does income affect foot health?
As a person's income increases, the prevalence of foot
problems decreases.
25. Do podiatrists treat the largest
percentage of the population that require foot health care services?
Podiatric physicians are the major providers of foot care
services, providing 39 percent of all foot care (orthopedic physicians
provide 13 percent of all foot care, all other physicians provide 37 percent
of all foot care, and physical therapists and others provide 11 percent of
all foot care).
26. Is it more expensive to be treated
by a podiatrist?
Podiatric physicians are four times less likely to use
costly inpatient services than other physicians.
27. How would you further describe the
treatment and care provided by podiatrists?
Podiatric physicians provide treatment for 82 percent of
corn and callus problems, 65 percent of toenail problems, 63 percent of
bunion problems, 46 percent of flat feet or fallen arches problems, and 43
percent of toe/joint deformities.
Patients with foot problems visit podiatric physicians an
average of 3.7 times a year, orthopedic physicians 3.4, osteopathic
physicians 3.2, all other physicians 3.0, and physical therapists and others
7.1.
28. Do more people visit podiatrists
as they get older?
As people age, they increasingly choose podiatric
physicians. Medicare data verifies that podiatric physicians are the
physicians of choice for 83 percent of hammertoe surgery, 67 percent of
metatarsal surgery, 77 percent of bunionectomy surgery, and 47 percent of
rearfoot surgery. Medical Economics magazine reported that 56 percent
of all older patients have seen a podiatric physician.
29. How many people see a podiatric
physician each year?
About 5 percent of the US population sees a podiatric
physician each year. There were more than 55 million patient visits in 1995
from about 14 million people.
In 1998, the average number of yearly patient contacts
with a podiatric physician was 4,488.
30. Are podiatrists on the staffs of many
hospitals?
About 81 percent of all US hospitals have podiatric
physicians on staff. The larger the hospital, the more likely it is to have
podiatric physicians on its staff.
31. Are podiatrists affiliated with
many managed care organizations?
About 87 percent of podiatric physicians are affiliated
with preferred provider organizations, 52 percent with nursing homes, 81
percent with health maintenance organizations, 21 percent with academic
institutions, and 12 percent with insurance companies, utilization review
firms, or peer review organizations.
32. How many podiatric physicians
graduate each year?
Over the past 10 years, an average of 592 new podiatric
physicians graduated yearly from the 7 podiatric medical colleges.
33. Are the majority of podiatrists
additionally qualified by board certification?
In 1998, 53 percent of all active podiatric physicians
were certified by one or more recognized podiatric medical boards.
34. How old is the average podiatrist?
On average, the podiatric physician in the United States
is 42 years old and has been in practice 13 years.
35. Are there many women practicing
podiatric medicine?
Over 14 percent of podiatric physicians are female.
36. Are most podiatric physicians in
group or solo practice?
About 58 percent of podiatric physicians are in solo
practice. They have an average of 3 employees.
37. Are podiatrists usually licensed
in more then one state?
About 48 percent of podiatric physicians have a license
in 1 state, 31 percent in 2, 19 percent in 3, and 2 percent in 4 states.
Sources for the data are the American Association of
Colleges of Podiatric Medicine, American Hospital Association, American
Podiatric Medical Association, Council on Podiatric Medical Education,
Podiatry Insurance Company of America, United States Bureau of the Census,
and United States Department of Health and Human Services.
|
