Compression and offloading products for practices.

Two product families where fit decides everything

Compression and offloading products for practices are harder to stock than dressings for one reason: they have to fit a particular limb. A foam dressing in the wrong size can be cut down. A walker boot in the wrong size, or a wrap kit made for a different ankle circumference, goes back on the shelf while the patient waits.

Gateway helps independent practices across Greater St. Louis and the Metro East source these items and build a stocking plan around the sizes they use. Clinicians choose the therapy.

Compression products a practice may stock or order

• Multilayer bandage systems, in two-layer and four-layer kits
• Short-stretch bandages and zinc paste bandages
• Padding, tubular bandages and stockinette
• Adjustable wraps with hook-and-loop closures
• Compression stockings and garments in measured sizes
• Pneumatic compression pumps and sleeves, which are equipment obtained through a supplier

Bandage kits and padding are usually practice stock, applied during the visit. Adjustable wraps, stockings, garments and pumps are more often ordered for one patient after measuring, sometimes through a supplier under the patient’s benefits. The patient’s view is on our page about compression therapy for leg wounds.

Offloading footwear and devices

• Removable cast walkers, in standard and low profiles
• Total contact cast supplies, for practices whose clinicians apply them
• Post-operative and healing shoes, including forefoot and heel relief designs
• Felt and foam padding for relief shaped at the visit
• Heel protection boots and positioning devices for patients in bed
• Therapeutic footwear and inserts, typically fitted and furnished by an outside supplier

Offloading only works if the patient can and will use the device, so clinicians weigh balance, the other foot, stairs and living situation. Our part is knowing which sizes are on hand, what can be delivered and how long it takes. For the patient’s view, see offloading for foot wounds.

The stocking problem: sizes, sides and slow movers

A practice cannot keep every size of every device. A workable plan does three things.

1. It keeps the common sizes of the one or two devices clinicians reach for most, in left and right where the design requires it, based on order history.
2. It names a supplier and an expected lead time for everything else, so staff can tell a patient what happens next.
3. It puts the shelf on a review schedule, because bandage kits carry expiration dates and bulky boots take up space.

Mobile practices have the added limit of trunk space. For house call and mobile practices, we plan a core kit for the vehicle and a restock point.

When the item comes through a supplier

Pumps, garments, therapeutic footwear and some walkers are often furnished by a supplier under the patient’s benefits. That adds steps: the order, the measurements, the documentation the supplier requests and sometimes prior authorization. Whether an item is appropriate is the clinician’s decision. Coverage and patient cost are determined by the plan and the supplier.

We coordinate the inquiry and keep the follow-up moving, as described on our page about DME and medical supply sourcing.

What Gateway takes on

• Reviewing which compression and offloading items you use, in which sizes, and how often
• Finding suppliers for each item and size, and confirming availability and terms
• Drafting a size-based stocking list and reorder points for clinician approval
• Preparing or placing orders according to the responsibilities your practice sets
• Following up on backorders, wrong sizes, returns and supplier documentation requests
• Keeping patient-specific orders visible until the item is delivered

What stays with the practice

Compression is not appropriate for every leg. Assessing circulation before compression, choosing the type and level, and deciding when to stop are the treating clinician’s decisions. Patients who want background can read about circulation tests before compression.

The same holds for offloading: device choice, fitting, patient instruction and follow-up are clinical work. Medical necessity, documentation, final coding decisions and responsibility for claims also stay with the practice. A stocking list is a convenience. It is never a reason to choose one therapy over another.

Starting with a short review

Write to us through the practice support inquiry form or phone 314-325-0126. Share contact details only, no patient information.

A useful starting point is a few months of orders and a conversation with a clinician and the person who stocks the shelves. Starting lists differ by specialty, as described for podiatry practices and vascular practices.

Common questions

Related pages

• Wound care supplies
• DME and medical supply sourcing
• Podiatry practices
• Vascular and vein practices
• Supply formulary and ordering
• Compression therapy
• Exam and clinical supplies
• Diagnostic equipment