Distribution and cost of wheelchairs and scooters provided by Veterans Health Administration

Abstract

Abstract-During fiscal years 2000 and 2001, the VeteransHealth Administration provided veterans with more than 131,000 wheelchairs and scooters at a cost of $109 million. This national study is the first to investigate Veterans Health Administration costs in providing wheelchairs and scooters and to compare regional prescription patterns. With a retrospective design, we used descriptive methods to analyze fiscal years 2000 and 2001 National Prosthetics Patient Database data (cleaned data set of 113,724 records). Wheelchairs were categorized by function, weight, and adjustability options for meeting individual needs (e.g., axle position, camber, position of wheels, tilt, and recline options). Results displayed a cost distribution that was negatively skewed by low-cost accessories coded as wheelchairs. Of the standard manual wheelchairs, 3.5% could be considered beyond the customary cost. Regionally, 71% to 86% of all wheelchairs provided were manual wheelchairs, 5% to 11% were power wheelchairs, and 5% to 20% were scooters. The considerable variation found in the types of wheelchairs and scooters provided across Veterans Integrated Service Networks may indicate a need for evidencebased prescription guidelines and clinician training in wheeledmobility technologies.

Scoping review of mobility scooter-related research studies

“…The majority of studies were descriptive in nature, using survey data or medical records to characterize users [5,13,[17][18], identify reasons for use [1,13], document accidents [5,[19][20][21]23], describe device cost and funding [17][18], and explore training [30]. A few studies used qualitative interviews or focus groups to explore users' perceptions of these devices [34][35] or prescription services [36][37].…”

“…Approximately a third of the included papers were descriptive studies that presented quantitative data about scooter user demographics, descriptions of activities users performed with their scooters, and frequency of scooter-related accidents [1,5,[12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]. For example, a retrospective review of data from the Veterans Health Administration found that Caucasians were more likely to receive mobility scooters in comparison to other ethnicities [12].…”

Evaluation of scooters using ANSI/RESNA standards

“…Coupled with estimates that show that 75 to 90 percent of disabled older adults currently use some form of assistive technology for mobility [3], the possibility of 54-65 million people requiring assistive technology by the year 2030 has farreaching implications. As the population ages, there is a noted increase in the demand for power mobility devices, including power wheelchairs and scooters [4][5]. The use of wheeled mobility devices in the United States has increased in the past decade, with a total number of nearly 4 million users, among whom 291,000, or 7 percent, use power devices such as scooters [6].…”

Comparison of mobility device delivery within Department of Veterans Affairs for individuals with multiple sclerosis versus spinal cord injury

“…The new ranking system was based on wheelchair function, weight, and adjustability. This ranking system is described in detail elsewhere [21]. If the same individual received a wheelchair in 2000 and/or 2001, only the wheelchair for the first year was included so the data set comprised only unique entries.…”