Diabetic shoes

So on the front page there is a blurb about the need for diabetic shoes is growing. While looking for requirements/guidelines for these shoes, I really could only find CMS guidelines for purchasing (prescribed by doc, 3 inserts per year, 1 pair of shoes per year, etc).

But I could find nothing about what qualifies the shoe itself as “diabetic” compliant shoes. The concern I would assume is the prevention of pressure ulcers, which is in turn is typically a function of heat/moisture/pressure/shear.

Does anyone know how to get approval for claiming “diabetic” shoes?

Here’s a 2012 article from Podiatry today.
http://www.podiatrytoday.com/article/2012

I think the major component is that they need the extra depth for the custom insoles. There are people that need custom Diabetic shoes but I can only guess there are people that could do with a proper fitting comfortable sneaker type shoe (New Balance white shoes).
Then there’s the “business” side of it:

From the article
"6. Medicare reimburses approximately $300 for one (off the shelf) pair of extra-depth therapeutic shoes and three sets of heat molded/custom multilaminar insoles. Your cost for shoes and inserts can range between $120 to $200. If you don’t provide shoes for your patients, someone much less qualified will. "

Approval would probably mean going through the process of the correct medical departments/agencies and their checklists. I think the article touches on that point.

I do not mean to undermine the knowledge and need for those shoes but are they really necessary or is it yet another way of taking money from people who could spend it on medicine? Like FH13 said that it is often enough to use custom insoles or simply well designed shoes like NB ones. What is the difference in between let’s say diabetic shoes and NB sneakers?

Really interesting to heard about diabetic shoes …

What are pros of shoes for diabetics?