甚麼是足病診療 What is Podiatry?
足病診療是腳的專科，提供一站式綜合性的診治服務給腳疾患者。足病診療師負責為你檢查、診斷、治療及處方各種醫療器具以加速雙腳的復原。 足病診療師的治療目標是緩和患處的痛楚、增強患者的活動能力和自立性。 足病診療師在對於糖尿病患者、關節炎患者、雙腳變形、皮膚潰爛及慢性腳痛等患者的照顧扮演一個重要而積極的角色。 有些腳病患者不適合或不願意做手術，足病診療師就成為另一種可靠的醫治選擇。
要成為足病診療師 (Podiatrist) 先要接受三或四年大學教育及臨床培訓，再要考取專業試才可獲得該國政府承認。獲發牌的足病診療師都會在該國衞生局註冊，然後才開始執業。所有足病診療師都是在外國培訓的，包括英國、澳洲、美國及加拿大等。
在香港，公立醫院及私家都有足病診療師為市民服務。其他稱號如足科矯形，足部治療師等均非擁有同等專業資格。
Podiatry is a discipline highly specialized in the medical treatment of the foot. The Podiatrists provide a comprehensive one-stop service to people suffering from various foot ailments. They are trained to examine, diagnose and prescribe preventive and therapeutic foot treatment aiming to facilitate independent ambulation and improve quality of life.
Podiatrists play an important and active role in care of high risk foot pathologies e.g. diabetes mellitus, arthritis conditions, foot deformities, foot ulcerations, chronic foot pain, flat foot conditions etc . We offer reliable alternative care for people who prefer conservative treatment than invasive surgery.
To become a podiatrist, they need to finish university undergraduate degree course and complete all professional examinations and clinical training as well as obtain state registration. Currently there is no recognized training school in Hong Kong, all members received their qualification overseas, e.g UK, Australia, United States, Canada, etc.