Snježana Biloš (OTOS Orthopedic Technology): Supplier Prices Skyrocket, and We Are Limited by Our Contract with HZZO

Based on the foundations of the company Banija, established in 1945, which primarily produced custom orthopedic footwear, Osijek’s OTOS Orthopedic Technology has grown into one of the largest orthopedic companies in Croatia. In five medical houses, as OTOS refers to its specialized stores for orthopedic aids, a workshop for the production of prosthetic and orthotic aids, a workshop for the production of custom orthopedic footwear, and a workshop for insoles and textiles, they provide orthopedic aids according to user requirements.

In the workshops, they can thus adapt shoes, prostheses, and orthoses to the needs of each person who cannot find a ready-made solution for their difficulties. Although the key skill in this profession remains with the people who create the aids, technological advancements have allowed OTOS to be more precise and faster, emphasizes director Snježana Biloš, which has opened new possibilities in the production and offering of aids.

Keeping Up with Trends

Nine years ago, OTOS used its own funds, she highlighted, to purchase scanners for measuring orthopedic aids, software for preparing molds, designing orthopedic shoes, and modeling shoe uppers, pneumatic material cutters, and milling machines for preparing orthopedic molds for shoes and models, i.e., positives for prostheses and orthoses. With funds from the European Union, the upgrade of technology continued in 2017 with the purchase of software for preparing and manufacturing trunk orthoses, prostheses, and limb orthoses, baropodometry systems, software for preparing custom orthopedic insoles, and milling machines for producing such insoles.

– Orthopedic aids are becoming increasingly modern, especially in prosthetics. Prosthetic parts that are integrated into prostheses, such as microprocessor knees and joints and bionic hands, allow users not to feel like second-class citizens, but to engage in activities such as hiking, running, skiing… Unfortunately, such aids are financially accessible only to a few, which is why we want to make them more accessible with the help of the Croatian Health Insurance Fund (HZZO). Additionally, following global trends and guidelines from professional associations, we wanted to provide our service users with a comprehensive solution under one roof, so we established the OTOS Vita Polyclinic for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in 2013. This ensures that any uncertainties in the production and application of aids are resolved as a team, utilizing the knowledge of our technicians and healthcare staff. In the end, the user is satisfied and receives a fully functional aid – says Biloš.

Participants in Global Fairs

After its establishment, the Polyclinic became a contracted institution of HZZO and employs seven physiotherapists and one nurse, led by director, primarius Đurđica Kesak-Ursić, MD, specialist in physical medicine and rehabilitation. The staff of the Polyclinic and OTOS have received special training for trunk orthotics, says Biloš, and have completed training at the Bundesfachschule für Orthopädie-Technik in Dortmund and ScolioControl in Novi Sad.

– To ensure that knowledge is transferred seamlessly, we hired a young doctor, Zvonimir Kalkan, who is currently specializing in physical medicine and rehabilitation. We also attend specialized fairs, such as one of the largest orthopedic technology fairs, OT World, which is held every two years in Leipzig. We have participated as exhibitors for several years, and we also visit the Orthopädie Schuh Technik fair in Cologne and Lineapelle and Simac in Milan. As part of our wholesale and retail, in addition to our own products, we distribute goods from other domestic and foreign suppliers. Our offerings include incontinence products from the Italian manufacturer Eurofila, orthoses from the Swedish Allarda, liners for prostheses from the American company Alps, and prosthetic parts from the French Proteor and Turkish IB-ER. Besides collaborating with foreign suppliers, entering the EU and investing in modern technology have enabled us to offer our products and services to foreign partners, so our individually produced orthopedic shoes can also be found in Denmark, the Netherlands, and Austria – states Biloš.

To read about the challenges they have faced over the years and those they are currently encountering, check out the rest of the entrepreneurial story available in the latest issue of the printed and digital edition of Lider.