The Veterans Administration's standards program in prosthetics, orthotics, and orthopedic aids.

The Veterans Administration is increasingly employing standards in its Prosthetic and Sensory Aids Program. The standards now used are documents (Fig. 1) which present desired qualities and features of prosthetic and orthotic hardware and orthopedic aids and of fitted limbs and braces and then specify those attributes necessary to control their quality, safety, and performance. Standards for sensory aids are also being developed. Many people interested in prosthetics and orthotics practice may not be too familiar with the present program in which clinicians, especially prosthetists and orthotists as well as the hardware manufacturers themselves, help assure that not only beneficiaries of the Veterans Administration but all disabled will benefit from appropriate controls over the function, the safety, and the quality of manufactured prefabricated components. Standards covering the quality of fit use controls over the fitter on the basis of criteria formulated by the American Board for Certification. VA clinical inspection procedures based on standards of fit developed by university and VA research and educational programs are employed as well. University upgrading courses for fitting of new types of appliances are also part of the VA standards. The Veterans Administration effects its Standards Program administratively through the Veterans Administration Supply Service and its contracts with manufacturers and fitters, and technically by use of clinical examinations of appliances fitted to patients as well as laboratory testing programs at the VA Prosthetics Center. .The Government through VA, therefore, is not only able to establish requirements but is also able to followup and assist manufacturers and practitioners in following the standards. FThe nature of this whole program is described here. This descrip tion should be of interest to the Federal agencies involved in procure1