Physicians

Using DNA to Predict Scoliosis

Ellen — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 11:53:57 -0700

Six million people (estimate from the National Scoliosis Foundation) have scoliosis in one form or another. The primary age range for onset of idiopathic scoliosis is 10-15, occurring equally in both genders but females are eight times more likely to progress to curve magnitude that requires intervention.

Idiopathic or degenerative scoliosis is the cause of:

600,000 physician visits annually
30,000 children put in braces
38,000 spinal fusion surgeries

(Source: National Scoliosis Foundation)

Case Study: Conducting Analyses for the Practice's Strategic Plan

Greg — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 10:45:57 -0700

Internal analysis

The physician created the mission statement for the practice and proceeded to implement it with his staff. The effectiveness of past marketing efforts was discussed at length. The Office Manager indicated the practice would be able to handle the anticipated increase in patient volume in the physician’s daily schedule of appointments without the need to

The Elderly Spine Patient: 54 Million Reasons This Market Will Boom

Ellen — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 09:07:06 -0800

“Surf’s up!" An industrywide wave is rising. Catch it and don’t get left on the beach. Below is our forecast of procedure volumes through 2009 for elderly spine patients. So far, the industry has only focused on spine patients under 65 years of age. Go ahead, ride that tide, but be careful because companies hanging out in the past might just fall victim to a rip current.

Percutaneous Spine Procedures: Just Setting the Stage for Fusion?

Ellen — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 11:51:41 -0700

Welcome to the Orthopedic Theatre! Where all the world is an operating room, the operating table is center stage, the spine surgeon has the lead role, and everyone hopes for a good outcome. Let’s set the stage and open the playbill for the show. Today’s performance will focus on surgical decompression procedures. We will look at selective nerve root blocks, laminectomies, and percutaneous discectomies using the PearlDiver Patient Records Database to longitudinally track patients in order to find out how often these procedures lead to spine fusion. Quiet!

Membership Frequently Asked Questions

Greg — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 12:39:45 -0700

How will a Spine-health.com website help me with new patient referrals?

Spine-health.com makes it easy for prospective patients to find your spine practice through our sophisticated online marketing strategies, which include:

Top rankings on the most important search engines (e.g. AOL.com, Google.com, Yahoo.com)
read more

Patient Testimonials

Greg — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 12:06:45 -0700

Here's what patients are saying about Spine-health:

"Throughout the diagnosis, going to the surgeon and then the actual surgery, your website has been a tremendous source of both information and the comfort in learning about my condition. I am the type of person for whom knowledge contributes to healing."

"Although my doctors have been very willing to answer my questions, it really helps to be able to access information at home where it can be more readily absorbed. Thank you for maintaining this website - it has been a lifesaver."

Spine-health Membership Processes and Fees

Greg — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 12:01:39 -0700

Spine-health.com physician members are an elite group of spine specialists, many of whom are recognized leaders in the field. Spine-health.com members are committed to patient education and understand the importance of a high impact web presence.

Your annual membership includes:

Comprehensive, top-ranked physician webpage, including development, maintenance, and hosting, plus ongoing changes/editing at no extra cost
read more

Grow Your Spine Practice

Greg — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 11:54:55 -0700

Spine-health.com professional physician webpages help grow your practice through broad exposure on the Internet.

More patients than ever are going online to find a spine specialist. On a recent Spine-health.com poll (N=444), 3 out of 4 of patients said that they have used the Internet to find and/or research their spine doctor.

Improve Outcomes with Spine-health

Greg — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 11:45:44 -0700

Using Spine-health.com’s patient education resources in your practice

Each month spine specialists refer over 60,000 patients to Spine-health.com for information and education... are you providing this valuable service for your patients?

With thousands of pages of original, peer-reviewed articles, illustrations and animations, Spine-health.com helps you provide first class information to help your patients understand their condition and treatment.

Patients emphasize that using Spine-health.com:

Make Spine-health Part of Your Spine Team

Greg — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 11:40:21 -0700

Improve Outcomes with Spine-health
Our physician members and their patients say that the “information therapy” provided by Spine-health.com actually improves their outcomes and helps patients heal. Learn more

Spine-health Connects Patients and Physicians

Greg — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 11:32:39 -0700

Member physicians report receiving an average of 6 new patients per year from Spine-health.com.
93% of patients visiting Spine-health.com are looking for a physician
Educated patients are higher quality patients

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Educated Patients Have Better Outcomes

Greg — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 11:24:57 -0700

Spine-health.com facilitates meaningful patient communication
Unbiased articles encourage realistic patient expectations
In-depth content supplements conversations with physicians

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The Leading Website for Back Pain and Chronic Pain Information

Greg — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 11:15:35 -0700

1 million unique visitors monthly
Award-winning content
Top search engine rankings

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Spine-health is Unique Among Online Health Resources

Greg — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 10:28:24 -0700

Original content, written by more than 80 physician authors
Peer-review process involves 23 members of our Medical Advisory Board
Unbiased and independent voice, written specifically for patients

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Physician Testimonials

Greg — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 09:13:10 -0700

Spine-health.com Physicians know the value of superior online health information

Spine-health.com's unique position on presenting unbiased, peer-reviewed health information to patients online has found resonance with physicians around the world.

Physicians and practice managers tell us that Spine-health.com:

Gene Therapy Could Aid Disc Degeneration

Ellen — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 13:21:30 -0700

Using innovation to combat degeneration…AAOS is announcing that a review article appearing in the June 2008 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons discusses how gene therapy may one day potentially offer some relief to millions of individuals who experience back pain due to disc degeneration.

Teaching Hospitals and Doctors to Say, I’m Sorry

Greg — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 09:50:30 -0700

Rhode Island and eight other states are considering bills that would allow physicians to apologize when things go wrong without having to fear that their words will be used against them in court.

Steven Minicucci, a Providence lawyer who handles malpractice suits, says that displays of compassion are rarely useful in building such cases. But an apology and an admission of error could be key evidence. He opposes the Rhode Island legislation.

STS and SAS: Innovation, Consternation, and Dedication

Greg — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 09:44:44 -0700

The 2007 Spine Technology Summit (STS) and the seventh annual meeting of the Spine Arthroplasty Society (SAS7), both held this past week in Berlin, featured big companies, micro companies, and surgeons from every corner of the world and every philosophy of medicine. Topic A? Products that promise in some way to do a better job for patients and surgeons than the bread and butter of today's $6 billion spinal implant industry'spinal fusion.

Spine Surgeons Respond to Martin-Deyo Study in JAMA

Greg — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 09:39:33 -0700

It's a mystery.

Millions of people in the U.S. suffer from neck and back pain every year. Unfortunately for many, their pain cannot be clearly identified and diagnosed. This creates uncertainties for payers who aren't sure what to pay for and confusion for patients who don't know who to trust to treat their pain.

CMS Announces Retroactive Reimbursement

Greg — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 09:35:12 -0700

Spinal fusion codes are back and unbundled

CMS has announced that it is retroactively reimbursing denied claims for two major Spine Fusion procedures.

Spine Surgery Reimbursement Examples

Greg — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 09:30:32 -0700

Physician documentation & coding

DRG assignment is based on the ICD-9-CM code designated as principal diagnosis (i.e., the condition determined after study to have occasioned the admission of the patient to the hospital), other secondary diagnoses referred to as co-morbid conditions and complications (CCs) (i.e., those proven to show higher resource utilization in 75% of the patients reported with these conditions), and procedures with designated operative and/or major procedure value. Examples

Most Frequently Billed Spine Care Diagnoses

Greg — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 09:26:46 -0700

As we drill down to the intricacies of DRG (Diagnosis Related Groups) payment calculation variables, we can better understand the impact that comprehensive physician documentation and accurate data reporting has upon hospital reimbursement. The most frequently billed DRGs for spine care are listed in Table 1. Examples of documentation, coding, and billing scenarios follow:

Optimizing Spine Surgery Reimbursement

Greg — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 09:22:52 -0700

Spine surgery reimbursement issues

Healthcare financial analysts estimate the annual cost of back care in the U.S. is over $85 billion. Advances in medical technology as well as emerging surgical and minimally invasive techniques continue to broaden the scope of spine care services. The need for comprehensive physician documentation and accurate coding, charge

Implementing a Pain Management Center

Greg — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 09:12:28 -0700

After completing the analysis, the time has come to reflect on the data that has been collected and implement a plan to fit the philosophy of the pain management practice.

Pain Center implementation plan

With a little research and the right guidance, establishing a pain management center or adding pain management to your existing hospital or ASC, need not be a daunting venture. To formulate an implementation plan, the physicians will need to:

Pain Center Analysis

Greg — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 09:09:36 -0700

In order to determine the location for establishing a pain center, it is important to perform a complete community analysis. A community analysis consists of three basic components: a demographic analysis, a pain management market analysis and a competitive analysis.

Locating a Pain Management Center

Greg — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 09:06:53 -0700

There are three basic locations to establish or add Pain Management Services;

Establishing a Pain Management Center

Greg — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 08:57:52 -0700

The movement toward Pain Centers

In the healthcare market today, physicians and hospitals are struggling to provide quality care and maintain profits. The business of medicine is increasingly complicated and competitive. Minimally invasive access techniques and modalities are in huge demand. The internet has become a patient education tool and search engine for consumer due diligence.

Nucleus Replacement: Perspectives Regarding the Gap in the Continuum of Spine Care and Degenerative Disc Disease

Greg — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 08:53:22 -0700

Confucius said, “Do not use a cannon to kill a mosquito.” In spine, the admonition could become, “Do not use fusion to treat an early stage degenerated disc.” Nucleus replacement may become an alternative to more invasive procedures in cases of early stage degenerative disc disease. These technologies may fill part of the gap in the continuum of spine care and also help abate the use of the controversial “cannon,” otherwise known as fusion. After all, Confucius had a good point!

You Try It. No You Try It First: New Technology Adoption

Greg — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 08:40:55 -0700

Youth versus age, risk taking versus conservatism, and funding...always funding. These are just some of the factors that determine whether a patient receives the latest in technology. Says Dr. Rick Guyer, President of the Texas Back Institute and Past President of NASS, “It is true that the adoption of new technology has become faster in the last 100 years. However, the old axiom that people don’t like change is always in play. Except pioneers, of course. Thank goodness for the pioneers.”

You Do Spine Surgery and Don’t Monitor Nerves? Why?

Greg — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 08:34:15 -0700

Neuro monitoring (a.k.a.: Neurophysiologic Intraoperative Monitoring) may be one of the most exciting and important “old” innovations to come into spine and neuro surgery in decades. Think of it, what surgeon would dare operate without blood gas monitoring? Or blood pressure monitoring? So why operate without nerve monitoring?

A Path to Intelligent Medicine

Greg — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 08:29:02 -0700

Dr. Guyer’s NASS Farewell Address

As tradition required, Rick Guyer, M.D., the outgoing President of the North American Spine Society (NASS), delivered his farewell speech in Austin at the Society’s annual meeting in October.

Marketing Actions

Greg — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 13:04:08 -0700

There are several actions that need to be taken both for general marketing for your spine practice (such as creating a practice brochure) as well as specific marketing initiatives for different customer groups.

Conduct Analyses for the Strategic Plan

Greg — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 13:01:16 -0700

Formulating a Strategic Marketing Plan involves careful evaluation of both internal factors (within your spine practice) and external factors (such as your market and your competitors. The results of this analysis will provide guidance for the elements of the marketing plan.

How to Successfully Market your Spine Practice

Greg — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 12:36:25 -0700

Preparation for marketing your spine practice

As you know, the medical industry has changed tremendously over the past years. In most markets, you can longer sit back and wait for patients to come to you. In planning for the future of your practice, you must remember it is better to be proactive, not reactive.

There are many reasons why you may want to better market your spine practice, such as:

A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats: Interbody Fusion and Instrumentation

Greg — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 11:58:29 -0700

"A rising tide lifts all boats." The tide is made up of over 30 million physician visits for back-related symptoms each year, and over a million spine-related surgical procedures performed annually. We estimated this translated into $7.1 billion in spine-related revenues for medical device companies in 2007. The 800-pound gorillas are still instrumentation and interbody fusion devices. What’s driving this market?

Medicare in the 21st Century

Greg — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 11:26:49 -0700

If you want to know where Medicare reimbursement is heading, look to the recommendations developed by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), established in 2007 to advise Congress on the program.

Doctor/Patient Communication: Where Knowledge and Caring Meet

Greg — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 11:22:18 -0700

Investments…you make them every day. Whether investing extra time with your children to ensure a healthy relationship or investing in mutual funds to plan for retirement, every day you take a little extra time to work toward a brighter future for those you care about. And being a dedicated orthopedic surgeon, that extra investment surely includes your patients.

Quality of Care at Doctor-Owned Specialty Hospitals

Greg — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 11:14:34 -0700

Spine Disorders: A Problem that is Growing Older

Right now spine problems, such as back pain are a leading cause for medical care and hospitalization in the United States. Add to the current demand on the health care system the number of people nearing retirement and the need for innovative improvements in spine patient care is made obvious. Consider that during 2006 the first Baby Boomers celebrated their 60th birthdays. The U.S. Census Bureau’s statistics offer a staggering dose of reality. They

Viewpoint: Doctor-Owned Specialty Hospitals is Good Medicine

Greg — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 11:08:05 -0700

Even before the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) lifted the moratorium in August 2006 to allow more specialty hospitals to operate, the battle lines were drawn over this controversial and complicated health care issue. Its advocates and critics include attorneys, politicians, special interest groups, doctors, and health care organizations. Despite this step forward by the CMS, speculation about how doctor-owned specialty hospitals operate, and if they should even be in business, rages on.

New Non-invasive Imaging Method for Diagnosing Osteoarthritis

Greg — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 11:05:40 -0700

Molecular vision! New York University and Tel Aviv University researchers have developed a non-invasive imaging method that can be used to diagnose and monitor a number of diseases, including osteoarthritis and intervertebral disc degeneration (in their early stages). The work is detailed in the latest issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS, February 12, 2008).

When No Good Deed Went Unpunished: The First Decade

Greg — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 11:01:53 -0700

For about 10 years, one man was probably the best known surgeon and entrepreneur in the spine industry. His name was (and remains) Art Steffee, and he was the founder of AcroMed Inc. Dr. Steffee, who retired about nine years ago, opened up the excellent Preservation of Motion in the Spine meeting in Duck Key, Florida, this past week. It has been an incredibly long road from Cleveland in 1982 to a motion preservation meeting in Florida in 2007 for both Dr. Steffee and the spinal implant industry.

Case Study: Putting the Strategic Marketing Plan

Greg — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 10:49:48 -0700

There were several actions that needed to take place both for general marketing for the practice as well as specific marketing initiatives for different customer groups.

Case Study: How One Practice Achieved Growth Through Strategic Marketing

Greg — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 10:12:47 -0700

Preparing to market a medical practice

In today’s competitive medical fields, including spine medicine, orthopedics, neurosurgery, interventional pain management and physiatry, physicians must proactively market their practice in order to be competitive. Going beyond merely competitive to “leading” requires a carefully designed and focused marketing plan that

Biologics for Spine: Where We Are Now

Greg — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 10:08:06 -0700

In spine, not only is the regulatory environment challenging…so is the disc environment. With so many hurdles to cross, it’s amazing that biologics for use in the spine have progressed. But they have. Says Dr. Jeffrey Wang, Chief of the UCLA Spine Service and Director of the UCLA Spine Surgery Fellowship, “Ten years ago the field was 75% traditional rods and plates and 25% biologics. Now it has reversed and we are in a transition period where we’re focusing more on biologics than devices. This is in part because people are increasingly aware of the potential impact of biologics.

The Struggle to Reimburse Disc Arthroplasty

Greg — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 09:59:45 -0700

Two weeks ago, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published its most recent ruling concerning reimbursement for the $10,600 disc replacement implant. CMS ruled that disc arthroplasty products like the soon to be approved CHARITE (JNJ’s DePuy Spine division) or the ProDisc (Synthes Spine) are only eligible for reimbursement under code 80.51, which is the code for

Mapping the Future of Spine

Greg — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 09:54:17 -0700

A small but select group of leading spine surgeons, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and leading strategic spine companies met for three days last month at a remote, cell phone challenged location to debate, dissect and discuss the future of the spine industry. Their collective conclusions painted a picture of fewer fusions, much less invasive procedures and motion preservation in one of many forms.

Disc Arthroplasty's Steep Learning

Greg — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 09:49:58 -0700

We now have data from the early disc arthroplasty patients. In a 17 year follow-up study of 51 disc arthroplasty (non-fusion) patients, the data suggest that both the technology and the surgeons employing it have been walking up a steep learning curve.

Educational Objectives for the Introduction of the Lumbar Total Disc

Greg — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 09:39:47 -0700

Currently there are great advances being made in the surgical treatment options for patients with low back pain that has not resolved with non-operative treatments. These surgical options are oriented toward motion-retaining devices such as artificial discs, and posterior instrumentation designed to relieve the patient’s pain by providing controlled motion to the problematic spinal segment.

Operation Straight Spine

Greg — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:35:59 -0700

Project summary: Establishing a charitable mission project to provide spinal disease and deformity treatment for the poor and under-served in India.
Featured Spine-health.com Member: Dr. Jeffrey R. McConnell

Overview

Establishing a charitable mission project to provide spinal disease and deformity treatment for the poor and under-served in India was a dream shared by two orthopaedic spine surgeons:

Spine Specialists Making a Difference

Greg — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:08:19 -0700

This section of Spine-health.com highlights achievements of Spine-health.com Physician Members. While all of our Members have met the criteria for Membership, many go above and beyond to serve the special needs of spine patients around the world.

Know someone who is making a difference? If you or someone you know is a Spine-health.com Member and should be featured here for their work in the spine community, please encourage them to contact us: admin@spine-health.com.