Mick Perez-Cruet, MD, is vice chairman, professor and director of the minimally invasive spine surgery and spine program in the department of neurological surgery at the Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine.
Dr. Perez-Cruet outlines the key trends and challenges that will change that are changing the way surgeons practice today and in the future.
Question: What emerging technology are you most interested in today and why?
Dr. Mick Perez-Cruet: Stem cell for intervertebral disc regeneration. This is a very exciting area of clinical research and investigation and has the potential to benefit most of our patients, provided the appropriate cost-effective technologies are developed.
Q: How do you think your practice will change in the next three years? What are you doing today to prepare?
MPC: There are certainly increasing administrative burdens. We need to prepare for this and improve our practice's ancillary services and efficiency to defray the added practice cost.
Q: What is the most dangerous trend in healthcare, spine or orthopedics today and why?
MPC: Restricted vendor access and lack of appropriate payment for medical devices by our large healthcare providers. This eliminates smaller companies with innovative products for our patients and has a detrimental impact on healthcare innovations that benefit our patients.
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