Three spine surgeons share key investment areas for practices that may have limited spending power due to the current economic climate.
Ask Spine Surgeons is a weekly series of questions posed to spine surgeons around the country about clinical, business and policy issues affecting spine care. We invite all spine surgeon and specialist responses.
Next week's question: What spinal technologies, procedures do you see becoming more prominent in 2021?
Please send responses to Alan Condon at acondon@beckershealthcare.com by 5 p.m. CST Wednesday, Dec. 30.
Note: The following responses were lightly edited for style and clarity.
Question: For surgeons with little time and resources, what areas of their practice should they invest in over the next two to three years?
Brian Gantwerker, MD. Craniospinal Center of Los Angeles: Medium-term investment in a blooming spine practice should be in a couple of key areas. First, invest in good computers. I find if you buy more expensive machines from a certain brand, they not only hold together but can hold on for six to eight years. If you buy your staff cheap stuff, you are going to be continuously pouring money into something that a little more investment up front could avoid. Second, get experienced staff and pay them. I like hiring seasoned, experienced people. They are well worth the additional hourly or spiff investments. Last, keep your staff in the loop of changes or things you want done better. Train them in new skills, like coding or using a new program. Again, investing in your people is the least expensive and has the best ROI over any fancy in-house MRI or physical therapy you can get.
Todd Lanman, MD. Lanman Spinal Neurosurgery (Beverly Hills, Calif.): They need to use whatever limited time and resources they have to focus on motion-preservation technologies. I think there will be a time in the not too distant future when a surgeon will authorize a fusion procedure and the insurance company will ask why they're not implanting an artificial disc, because they have better outcomes. That paradigm will shift, and I think young surgeons with limited resources need to focus on developing those skills and abilities.
Neel Shah, MD. DISC Sports and Spine Center (Newport Beach, Calif.): One of the most important things news reporting of the coronavirus pandemic has shown us is that the general public is thirsty to learn everything possible about the conditions that can affect their health. As they eagerly consume newscasts explaining the complexities of epidemiology, virology and microbiology, ordinary people have become active participants versus the passive patients of generations past. This is a great phenomenon, but it is also impacting the already limited time we surgeons have with our patients, as we must devote more to teaching them accurately and effectively about the diseases and conditions affecting them.
Given the amount of unreviewed information on the internet, an important investment for practices would be to look into deriving or investing in a curated knowledge base with numerous ways to deliver such information to patients. This would take some of the burden off providers during traditional, in-person patient visits and would also be helpful with the emergence of telehealth. The goal would be to be able to direct patients to a vetted source of information that is pertinent, well thought-out and accurate.