How to choose a prosthetic company and see what unspoken rules there are in the prosthetic industry
The prosthetic industry serves disabled friends, but with the fierce competition in the industry, more and more unspoken rules have made it worse for disabled friends. The editor is also feeling a lot of sulking in the stomach. Facing many disabled friends who unfortunately have amputations, the left one said the doctor's introduction, the right one said the lawyer must go to the company to install it. Faced with such incidents, amputee patients are certainly deplorable, but prosthetic limb companies have no ethics at all.
Faced with such a situation, the editor can no longer vent his frustration. I also hope that through this article, more disabled friends will not fall into unspoken rules and protect their own interests.
About the doctor:
It is no secret that doctors accept kickbacks from equipment manufacturers. This trend is also prevalent in the prosthetic industry. Most hospitals also cooperate with prosthetic companies, including braces and prostheses. There's nothing to say about braces. They need to be selected during treatment. The doctor has strong control. If you want to find it yourself, firstly, there is no way. Secondly, if the doctor says that the hospital will not take any responsibility if there is a problem, you will have to suffer the consequences. For this device, the prosthetic limb company has to pay more than 40% of the doctor's fee, usually around 45%. It can only be said that doctors make much more money than the prosthetic limb company. Without a doctor's introduction, the prosthetic limb company can't do anything.
As for the prosthesis, it cannot be installed during the treatment period. The doctor's control is not that strong, and the rebate is much lower, but it is still around 20% (which is also very high). Many doctors do not dare to be too obvious about how to control the placement of prosthetic limbs, so they do so in a subtle way. Those who are timid can just recommend this company and tell them as soon as possible if there is an amputation patient; those who are bold can use more methods. The more common methods are:
First, let the nurse guard the patient and prevent other companies from visiting the patient. They rush to the patient as soon as they see him. It is said that they cannot disturb the patient's rest, but the cooperative company has the green light all the way. In this way, the patient has no understanding of the industry and can only listen to their family. How do you think the patient will choose?
Second, not long after entering the hospital, doctors and nurses give patients brainwashing "advice" every day. Nowadays, there are many scammers, claiming to be from lawyers and prosthetic companies. Many patients in the hospital have been deceived. If such a person comes to see you, tell the doctor and nurse as soon as possible. Second, do not disclose your information to avoid being deceived. This type of brainwashing increases the patient's vigilance. Without sufficient communication, the patient will naturally not be able to judge which prosthetic company is good. But for a prosthetic company that cooperates with doctors, it will definitely be able to obtain the patient's address and contact information through the doctor, so that the company can gain more initiative and the success rate will be higher.
Third, the prosthetic limb is assembled after treatment. The patient has been discharged from the hospital, and the doctor cannot see or talk to him. In this case, some doctors will tell the patient when he is discharged from the hospital that he must come back for a review before installing the prosthetic limb. Then when he comes back for a review, the doctor said: After the inspection, the prosthetic limb can be installed. I will call the prosthetic limb company to pick you up and install it. The more honest people were pushed away obediently.
Regarding the doctor’s introduction, the editor suggests that it is best not to pretend, because doctors don’t know much about prosthetics. When a doctor chooses a prosthetic company to cooperate with, it does not mean choosing the best company. As long as the qualifications are acceptable and the points given are high, it is fine. However, this is not the most important consideration. The most important thing is safety, because after all, collecting kickbacks is also shady. Finding a trustworthy person to cooperate with is the most important consideration for doctors. Don't think that since the doctor is a relative or friend, it's impossible for him to collect the kickback. He just accepts a lot of it. The so-called "don't eat it if it's not cooked". If you want to get fitted, the editor recommends going to another qualified prosthetic company to get fitted. After all, you can save a lot of money. It will not be easy for disabled friends to make money in the future.
About the lawyer:
Lawyers (mainly referring to paralegals who do not have a lawyer's qualification certificate, and real lawyers generally do not dare to mess around) make people sound like a very noble profession, but as long as you understand it in depth, you will know that it is also a very dark thing, especially law firms that specialize in dealing with traffic accidents and work-related injuries. I will not go into details when dealing with traffic police and labor bureaus, giving gifts and kickbacks. Those who sign up as lawyers in a hurry will regret it because the charges are too high.
Generally, lawyers charge 8% to 10% for traffic accident lawsuits (of course, it depends on the amount of compensation. If you have insurance, this range is usually within this range if the compensation amount is more than 300,000). The editor recommends not choosing a fee that is lower than 8%, because there are only two reasons for this fee. First, there is no experience, and second, it can be recovered elsewhere (for example, for prosthetics, some charge points are as high as 50% or more, so the points charged by lawyers are actually higher, and the ethics of such lawyers is also a problem, and it is possible to charge car owners and lower the compensation). If the income is high, there will be expenses to open up relationships. Anyway, don’t think too noble of a lawyer. Money is the first motivation. Don’t think you can make a profit by making provisions. The wool comes from the sheep.
Regarding the means of lawyer control, the more common ones include:
First, I will take you directly to the prosthetic company. After the tough talk between the lawyer and the prosthetic company, few people can resist, and in the end they just pretend to be stupid. Generally, in this case, it is normal to give more than 30% more. As the saying goes, you can’t afford to be early without benefit.
Second, through intimidation. When you install a prosthetic limb, you generally need a prosthetic limb company to issue a prosthetic limb certificate. If you want to go to a prosthetic limb company that is not recommended by a lawyer, the lawyer will threaten you and say that if you go to another prosthetic limb company to install a prosthetic limb company, you cannot guarantee that the certificate is valid, or directly say that the one issued by another company is invalid.
Third, talk to a lawyer before installing a prosthetic limb. The lawyer must first check the qualifications of the prosthetic limb company. This type of lawyer is a lot smarter and seems to have the best interests of disabled friends in mind, but what about the reality? After reading it, I said it would be better to work with him, so I would go to this one. You don’t know, but when a lawyer holds court, he only needs a prosthetic limb company to issue a prosthetic limb certificate. As long as the company has an operating approval document from the civil affairs department, it has legal reference value. This is like the same tertiary hospital. Do you think the certificate issued by one hospital is valid and the other is invalid? That's bullshit.
Fourth, a lawyer guarantees or advances funds. Many disabled friends have spent a lot of money on treatment, and the insurance company does not advance the funds. Therefore, they are financially strapped and have no money for the prosthetic limbs. They have to wait for compensation. If some prosthetic companies cooperate with lawyers, they will ask the lawyers to provide guarantees or advance funds, but they must go to the prosthetic company designated by the lawyer. For this kind of situation, some prosthetic limb companies have also made strategic adjustments. As long as they are locals, many can deal with the debt and pay it off after the compensation is received, without the need for a lawyer to guarantee it. Likewise, you can go to get the prosthesis installed wherever you want.
Of course, there are other methods. Disabled friends also need to be more careful. Remember: a lawyer is hired to help you with the lawsuit. If this lawyer is not good, hire another lawyer; the certificate issued by the prosthetic company only needs to be qualified, and there is no need for a lawyer to be involved. The lawyer only needs to say what qualifications the prosthetic company must have (for example, it is reasonable for the lawyer to ask for a certificate issued by the provincial civil affairs department or a company approved by the local civil affairs department). Which prosthetic company does not need to follow the lawyer's instructions.
The charging points controlled by lawyers are generally higher than those of doctors, mainly because of their control, and those who need to litigate will be compensated, and the equipment will be higher. Lawyers forcibly control the price, and the general collection point will be around 40%, and the lower one will be more than 15%, and the most common range is 20% to 30%. The editor has also seen many disabled friends buy prosthetic limbs of 23,000 yuan for 45,000 yuan, and I really feel sorry for their misfortune and angry with them.
About product replacement:
When changing products, you agree on this one when you go to install it, and then deliberately adjust it to have problems when installing it, and then recommend domestic or other cheaper products to you, and then the price is similar to the original one, to deceive disabled friends. Such ill-intentioned prosthetic companies are also unscrupulous.
For example, the price of a complete set of Ottobock 3R80 is around 47,000. Some prosthetic companies need to pay lawyers or doctors, etc. If a disabled friend compares and knows the price, then he will have to install it for you at this price. But given a rebate at this price, not to mention losing money, at least making money, but why would he agree to do this unprofitable business for you? Don't think that he has good intentions. Remember, the company is chasing profits. It's just that he has worse intentions. Just like what I just said, if you adjust the product if it doesn’t work well, and then replace the product for you, it is reasonable to install the Ottobock 3R80 at a price of 47,000, and it is also reasonable for the profit of the prosthetic company, but if you give a rebate, you will lose money or make no money. If you don’t replace the product, it is absolutely impossible.
Therefore, for disabled friends, never replace the product. The product price must be negotiated with the prosthetic company in advance. If it is not suitable, all deposits must be returned unconditionally, and then another prosthetic company can be used for assembly.
Of course, there are other alternative rules, such as malicious attacks by cyber trolls. It is no longer suitable to ask Baidu when you have something. What is true and what is false is a warning to disabled friends. It is not the content of a trustworthy website (such as Baidu Tieba, Baidu Zhizhi, etc., which are mostly talked about by peers, and are basically malicious attacks). More false than true. When choosing a prosthetic company, first of all, it depends on the qualifications. A company with good qualifications, no matter how bad it is, will not be worse than one with inferior qualifications. The second is to compare more. Don’t be afraid of trouble. Go to several prosthetic companies to compare, so that you have an idea of the price. As long as you compare, you can not only save money, but also be able to wear better. Third, careful control and introduction are okay, but strong control has no moral bottom line. If you only focus on money, disabled friends must keep their eyes open.
I won’t say more, I hope more disabled friends will open their eyes, save money as much as possible, and buy good products.
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