by Marius Ged, on Oct 10, 2022 2:09:35 PM
Keep up with the latest orthopedics news and insights from the industry's trusted legal partner, Ged Lawyers. Here is an overview of what happened this month in the orthopedics field.
This Month in FL Orthopedics News
1) Florida Orthopedic Institute Continues Expansion with Addition of New Doctors
The stitch of surgeons at Florida Orthopedic Institute has grown by three after the recent addition of Craig S. Radnay, M.D., M.P.H, James J. Creighton III, M.D., and Christopher Flanagan, M.D.
Florida Orthopedic Institute was founded in 1989 to provide expertise and treatment of orthopedic-related injuries and conditions. Some of the treatments offered include adult reconstruction and arthritis, foot and ankle, general orthopedics, hand and wrist, orthopedic trauma, shoulder and elbow, spine, and sports medicine.
Dr. Radnay will see sports and reconstructive foot and ankle surgery patients at the institute’s South Tampa and Temple Terrace locations.
Dr. Creighton, who specializes in upper extremity surgeries, will see patients at Florida Orthopedic Institute locations in South Tampa, Temple Terrace, and Sun City Center.
Dr. Flanagan specializes in delivering complex fracture care and traumatic injury after-effects management. He’ll be seeing patients at the institute’s Sun City Center location.
Industry Updates
1) HOI Increasing Use of Robot Assistance for Knee Joint Procedures
Hoag Orthopedic Institute (HOI) has added two new knee-assist robots to its arsenal. HOI already performs the most hip and knee replacement surgeries in the Western U.S, and this move will help them perform more outpatient total knee surgeries.
The first robot is a Zimmer ROSA® Knee System which utilizes patient-specific alignment. Dr. Gardener, a robot surgery specialist at the Mission Viejo California Specialty Surgery Center, described how the patient-specific alignment robot will augment their practice as follows:
“Patient-specific alignment uses real-time information that allows us to build a 3D virtual model of the knee in real-time, then superimpose the implant on the computer to determine alignment and balance before we put the implant in during surgery. The robot allows us to duplicate exactly what we planned on the computer in the patient, which typically leads to a good early range of motion and quicker recovery.”
The second robot is a Corin OMNIBiotics knee-assist surgery system. It is located in their Orange surgical center. The robot will help in reducing the trauma to soft tissues during surgery. This will, in turn, reduce local inflammatory responses, postoperative pain, and functional recovery time in patients.
Knee-assist robots are, however, not suitable for every knee surgery. Some conditions require more complex surgeries, requiring surgeons to use their experience and skill to increase the chances of a positive result.
2) Multidisciplinary Effort enhances Care for Geriatric Patients with Hip Fracture
UT Southwestern launched an orthopedic surgery liaison service in February 2021 labeled RESTORE (Returning Seniors to Orthopedic Excellence) which was then integrated with an existing nursing program dubbed NICHE (Nurses Improving Care for Healthsystem Elders).
RESTORE focuses on prioritizing early pain management and reducing the time before surgery for geriatric patients with hip fractures. At the same time, NICHE aims to provide a standard for early ambulation, delirium assessment, management, and improve follow-up visit adherence.
This multidisciplinary collaboration has shortened hospital stays and the time before they have surgery and resulted in better follow-up care. Under the two programs, the hip fracture care team involves physicians in geriatrics, pain management, internal medicine, emergency medicine, occupational therapy, and pain management, among others.
According to data from 117 patients treated after the formation of the RESTORE program, time to surgery has reduced to 18 hours from 44 hours, and attendance to follow-ups rose from 40% to 70%, which was still higher than the national average of 30%.
According to Dr. Megan Sorich, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at UT Southwestern Medical Center, other hospitals can benefit from incorporating similar programs.
Growing Your Practice
1) How Can a Strong Online Presence Benefit Your Orthopedic Practice?
Digital media is practically everywhere in our lives, providing us instantaneous access to an incredible wealth of knowledge. A strong online presence can help potential new patients find you, help them track your practice’s contacts, and help them choose you versus the rest of the orthopedic surgeons in your community.
According to Modernizing Medicine®, a website gives potential new patients the first impression of you and your orthopedic practice. As such, you should endeavor to keep it updated. Here are some best practices to maintain a strong online presence:
- Update your website regularly, including your contact information, a list of your staff members along with their photos, bios, and treatment specialties, and a regularly updated orthopedic blog to create a point of familiarization with new patients and increase search engine ranking
- List your accurate location information on Google My Business, Apple Maps, and Bing Places
- Collect patient reviews. According to a Software Advice survey, “a positive review history could bring out-of-network patients to your practice, as nearly half of respondents would go out of their insurance network for a provider with favorable reviews.”
- Maintaining a strong social media presence to engage with prospective patients consistently
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