Physicians

6 Sites for Checking Out Your Hospital

Sun, 15 Jul 2007 14:20:59 -0700

Are you scheduled for back surgery or considering it? In addition to a thorough check of your surgeon, you should probably check out your hospital too. While the surgeon is arguably the key factor in the procedure itself, the hospital staff, environment, and guidelines can impact things like choice of medication and use of antibiotics – choices that can cause variances among different hospitals, such as post-op infection rates for back surgery patients.

First Cervical Disc Replacement Surgery with ProDisc-C

spine-health — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 07:01:34 -0800

The very first ProDisc-C surgery was performed last week since the FDA approved the device in December 2007.

For Physicians: Paging Dr. Google

Tue, 03 Jul 2007 04:33:42 -0700

As you may know, Google is the preferred search engine for finding online health information among both health professionals and consumers. At least in the U.S., Google has become the de facto search engine for most search activity.

But how accurate (and helpful) is the information contained in Google’s health search results? A recent study decided to put Google to the test.

Get Your Back Pain Diagnosis from a Physiatrist

Wed, 11 Jul 2007 12:33:21 -0700

Whenever someone with bad back pain asks me where to get help, I say I would start with a diagnosis from a physiatrist who specializes in back pain. Here is why:

Most physiatrists can provide you with the broadest array of treatments for back pain:

Spinal injections (for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes)
Prescription pain medications and anti-inflammatories
Heat and ice and other pain modalities
Physical therapy

Incredibly Effective Ways to Check Out Your Surgeon

Wed, 29 Aug 2007 19:38:44 -0700

When it comes to selecting a surgeon, I'll take skill over personality anytime. But the $64,000 question is, how do you assess a surgeon's skill? When you buy a new TV or vacuum cleaner, you can rely on Consumer Reports and talk to friends who have the same model. But there's no "Consumer Reports" for doctors, and it's infinitely harder to find someone you know and trust who has had the same surgery for the same condition.

Is Your Pain Medication Prescribed Off-Label?

Mon, 01 Oct 2007 14:46:35 -0700

New Back Surgery Technologies

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 02:15:46 -0800

Technological developments in spine are occurring at an ever increasing rate, but what does this mean for patients? To date, most new technologies have involved reducing the postoperative pain and speeding recovery, and lately, technologies to preserve motion in the spine (as opposed to a fusion).

Often, new technology represents more of a marketing tool for physicians than a true advancement in patient outcomes.