In yet another tragic recoupment for Cellular Tissue Products, Heuser Health agreed to pay Medicare over $2.6 million to settle claims pertaining to the False Claims Act. The Department of Justice conducted this investigation under Operation Skin Scam. The exact scope of practice for the accused providers was not mentioned in this report. The DOJ continues to enlarge its scope of investigations into Medicare fraud. More information can be found here.

It is important for you to evaluate any company that provides grafts and the pricing model they follow.

—Alan Bass DPM

To add a question or comment to this discussion, email [email protected].

Additional coding and billing questions and responses can be found at www.Codinghelpline.com 

There are people who help you take the next step in your career, and there are people who change your understanding of what your life could become. Dr. Lowell Scott Weil Sr. was the latter for me.

I worked for Dr. Weil from 2003 to 2005, shortly after completing my pedorthic education at Northwestern. I arrived as a young person eager to learn, without fully understanding the opportunity I had been given.

The practice he had built was unlike anything I had experienced: more than twenty physicians, a surgery center, and a world in which medicine and business came together on an extraordinary scale. For someone at the beginning of a career, being able to observe that from the inside was an education in itself.

—Kevin B. Rosenbloom, C.Ped., founder, KevinRoot Medical

To read this entire post, click the button below. Previous tributes to Dr. Weil are here. To submit a question or response, email [email protected].

Tatiana Melnik, J.D., an attorney with Melnik Legal PLLC in Tampa, Florida, represents physician practices, ancillary service companies and health care software developers on health care, AI, data privacy and security, and regulatory compliance issues.

She presented "Privacy and Security Legal Issues in the Age of Artificial Intelligence" on Sept. 28 at the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) 2026 Annual Conference in San Antonio and sat down with Medical Economics at the conference.

Source: Medical Economics

GLP-1 weight loss is bringing a new foot complaint into practices. Diabetes, overuse injuries, and structural deformities have long brought patients into podiatry offices. Now podiatrists are reporting a newer complaint, one linked to the rapid weight loss that has come with the surge in GLP-1 medication use. 

Patients taking Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Zepbound are coming in with shoes that suddenly fit differently and pain that feels like walking on pebbles. Online, the problem has a name: "Ozempic feet." It isn't an official diagnosis, and the drugs' prescribing information doesn't list it as a side effect. But it has become common enough that practices should be ready for it. 

—By Sierra Stalnaker

When Doug Richie, DPM, enrolled at the California School of Podiatric Medicine in 1976, his cohort was the first class after podiatry schools returned to a four-year program structure from three years. “Why did they eliminate the three-year program?” asks Dr. Richie, who now serves as a clinical associate professor at the school, which is part of Samuel Merritt University’s College of Podiatric Medicine. “It was simply that the students felt it was just too hard of a grind.”

But with the cost of a podiatry degree now averaging $300,000, and podiatric salaries lagging behind some other medical specialties, Dr. Richie thinks students may be open to returning to the earlier time frame. “I think today with the financial pressure they’re under, they wouldn’t mind the grind,” he says.

Medicaid work requirements and a deadline for payers' electronic prior authorization systems arrive January 1, 2027. If the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalizes its proposal, so do new limits on who can perform remote monitoring.

Government affairs staff from the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) laid out those changes and more at the MGMA Annual Conference 2026 in San Antonio, in a Washington update session and a member town hall.

Source: Physicians Practice

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The 2026 Superbones Superwounds Fall Virtual Conference was held over the Sept. 25 weekend. This virtual medical conference was geared to the top podiatric surgical and wound care practices and taught by our nation’s top key opinion leaders. The education focused on evidence-based and best practices for utilizing the latest surgical procedures, advanced wound care guidelines and technologies, and vascular interventions. To see the highlights, click the button below.

Source: PRESENT Podiatry

Six physician medical groups are speaking out after HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. described AI as offering “a second opinion that is much better informed than any doctor in the country,” and has the power to “free us from medical tyranny.”

At the MAHA Summit in Washington, D.C., where Mr. Kennedy made the comments, he also claimed that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told him physicians would be committing malpractice if they diagnosed a patient or prescribed treatment without first consulting AI. Mr. Kennedy framed AI as a tool patients could use to challenge guidance from public officials and medical experts.

In a joint statement on Sept. 30 from the American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American College of Physicians, American College of Surgeons, and American Medical Association said, “Statements suggesting AI is inherently better informed than physicians, or that physicians cannot be trusted to make clinical decisions without first consulting this technology, diminish physician expertise and risk undermining patients’ trust.”

Source: Becker’s Hospital Review

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Southern California Podiatrist Opportunity

Podiatry Management Solutions is seeking a motivated podiatrist to provide regional coverage across Los Angeles, San Fernando Valley and Inland Empire. Join a growing multi-site practice treating personal injury, workers' compensation, Medicare, and HMO patients, with opportunities for office-based procedures, surgery, and expansion into partner facilities. Applicants must hold or be eligible for a California license and be board certified or board eligible. Flexible W-2, PSA, 1099, per-diem, and productivity-based arrangements are available. Compensation varies by experience and structure.

Apply: [email protected]

Southern California Nurse Practitioner Opportunity

Podiatry Management Solutions is seeking a nurse practitioner to provide podiatry and wound care across Los Angeles, San Fernando Valley, and the Inland Empire. Responsibilities include diabetic foot and wound care, routine podiatric services, follow-up visits, and pre- and postoperative care in clinics and partner facilities. Candidates need active California RN and NP licenses, national certification, a furnishing number, and DEA registration. Relevant clinical experience is preferred. Flexible W-2, PSA, 1099, per-diem,
and productivity arrangements are available. Compensation ranges from $130,000-$175,000 annually or $600-$850 per day, depending on experience and structure.

Apply: [email protected]

Full-Time Chair—Department of Podiatric Medicine & Surgery

The Dr. William M. Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine is seeking a full-time chair for the Department of Podiatric Medicine & Surgery. The chair will lead faculty, drive academic excellence, and oversee clinical experiences in a collaborative environment. Generous benefits! ($120K–$140K)

Contact: [email protected] or apply at https://www.rosalindfranklin.edu/employment/

For more information about submitting a classified ad, click the button below, or email [email protected].

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