title: Preventive foot care. A user-friendly system for patients and physicians.
abstract: Our user-friendly foot skin and toenail grading system is simple to understand for both patients and physicians. Current medical practice dictates that primary care physicians deliver the most comprehensive care possible for their patients. This includes preventive care and documentation of outcomes. Our approach simplifies evaluation and management of the majority of foot skin and toenail conditions in compromised hosts. Reimbursement for the extra care is justified, and authorized billing codes exist. Our system helps to prevent the physical, emotional, and financial costs associated with severe foot wounds and nail disorders. We remind our patients that proper foot care is as important in preventing foot complications as drug therapy is in preventing complications in other organs. Our approach to foot skin and toenail care is largely prophylactic and can be easily instituted in a primary care practice.
authors.affiliation: Baromedical Department, Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, CA 90801-1428, USA. mstrauss@memnet.org
authors.forename: M B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Strauss
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Hart
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Winant
mesh_terms: D003646:Debridement; D005534:Foot Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D009260:Nail Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control*; D009819:Office Visits; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000379:methods; D012051:Reimbursement Mechanisms; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017592:Skin Care / Q000379:methods*