Here are 10 spine surgeons who have had leadership roles in forming or heading spine surgery registries. Contact Laura at lmiller@beckershealthcare.com to recommend an additional spine surgeon for this list.
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Anthony Asher, MD (Carolina Neurosurgery & Spine Associates). Dr. Asher is the vice president of the NeuroPoint Alliance board of directors and director of the National Neurosurgery Quality and Outcomes Database (N2QOD), which was formally launched in February 2012. The database is designed to collect data on safety, quality and cost-effectiveness in neurosurgery. NeuroPoint Alliance was established by the American Association of Neurological Surgeons in 2008 and supported by the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, American Board of Neurological Surgery, Society of Neurological Surgeons and AANS/CNS Joint Section on Spine & Peripheral Nerves. Dr. Asher also serves as the co-medical director of the neuro-services line at Carolinas Healthcare System and director of the American Board of Neurological Surgery.
Kern Guppy, MD (Kaiser Permanente Medical Group, San Francisco). Dr. Guppy is the director of neurosurgery spine program at The Kaiser Permanente Medical Group, which includes a spine surgery registry. The registry has more than 10,000 cases registered and includes data from Kaiser medical centers in California, the northwest part of the country and Hawaii. The registry is designed to track specific implants and records surgical spine procedures, techniques, patient outcomes and complications. Dr. Guppy is a past president of the San Francisco Neurological Society and a member of the advisory editorial board for The Spine Journal.
Richard D. Guyer, MD (Texas Back Institute, Plano). Dr. Guyer is a co-founder of Texas Back Institute and former president of the North American Spine Society. During his tenure, Dr. Guyer began an effort to develop an outcomes registry. Dr. Guyer also serves as the director of TBI's spine fellowship program and founder of the Texas Back Institute Research Foundation, where he currently serves as board chairman. His additional experience includes serving on the editorial boards for numerous medical journals and associate clinical professor for the department of orthopedics at UT Southwestern Medical School in Dallas. He has earned the Volvo Award for Low Back Pain Research from NASS.
Paul M. Huddleston, MD (Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.). Dr. Huddleston leads the registry efforts for the division of orthopedic spine surgery at Mayo Clinic, designed to collect outcomes data and help providers understand the level of disability caused by the patient's condition and monitor responses to treatment objectively. The data also includes cost-effectiveness of interventions in various patient populations. Dr. Huddleston has a special interest in spinal infections, deformity and trauma.
Choll Kim, MD (Spine Institute of San Diego). Dr. Kim was the executive director of the Society for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery when the organization launched its registry in partnership with Globus Medical. The SMISS Data Registry for the Treatment of Degenerative Lumbar Spondylolisthesis, Degenerative Disc Disease, Spinal Stenosis and Degenerative Scoliosis is a prospective registry designed to evaluate minimally invasive spine surgical patient outcomes. The registry was launched in October 2011 and initially included clinical data from 10 to 15 sites throughout the United States. Dr. Kim is a founding member of SMISS and director of the Minimally Invasive Spine Center at Alvarado Hospital.
Baron Lonner, MD (NYU Langone Medical Center, New York City). Dr. Lonner is principle investigator for the Scoliosis Outcomes Database Registry at NYU Langone Medical Center Musculoskeletal Research Center. The registry is designed to allow physicians and researchers to analyze long-term outcomes of surgical treatment for idiopathic scoliosis. Dr. Lonner also serves as the director of Scoliosis and Spine Associates, where he started his private practice. During his career, he has been recognized for his patient care and served as a surgeon volunteer to underprivileged patients around the world. His practice is focused on customized treatment plans for patients with a focus on cost-effective care and surgical management of deformities.
Matthew McGirt, MD (Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn.). Dr. McGirt is the vice director of N2QOD, which was formally launched in February 2012. The database is designed to collect data on safety, quality and cost-effectiveness in neurosurgery. It was launched by the NeuroPoint Alliance, which was established by the American Association of Neurological Surgeons in 2008 and supported by the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, American Board of Neurological Surgery, Society of Neurological Surgeons and AANS/CNS Joint Section on Spine & Peripheral Nerves. Dr. McGirt is director of clinical research in the department of neurosurgery at Vanderbilt University and has a special focus on clinical outcomes and cost-utility research. He has received several recognitions for his research and is working to establish the Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health, an exchange program between neurosurgery training programs in the United States and East Africa.
Daniel Resnick, MD (University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison). Dr. Resnick is vice chairman of neurological surgery at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and serves as research council director on the North American Spine Society board. He has been active in clinical guideline formation with the organization and promoted outcomes research during his career. He has been active with multiple societies and co-chair of the lumbar fusion task force. Last year, he worked with NASS to begin the pilot program for a national spine registry database, partnered with organizations around the country.
Neal H. Shonnard, MD (Rainier Orthopedic Institute, Puyallup, Wash.). Dr. Shonnard is the director of the Spine Surgical Care Outcome Assessment Program, a program of the Foundation for Healthcare Quality, that includes long-term clinical outcomes and patient reported outcome information. The program was launched in 2011 and is now fully operational at 15 hospitals collecting data on 80 percent of eligible spine procedures in Washington State. Dr. Shonnard is a fellow of the North American Spine Society and an original member of the MISS Society in Washington State. He has published research on orthopedic extremity trauma and reconstruction, experimental neurosurgery and spine trauma reconstruction.
John Smith, MD (University of Utah Health Care, Riverton). Dr. Smith created the Chest Wall and Spine Deformity Registry for surgeons to access data about patients with chest wall and spinal disorders. The registry also allows surgeons to participate in retroactive and prospective studies for specific spinal disorders. He is a professor in the department of orthopedics at the University of Utah and practices at Primary Children's Medical Center. He is the director of the Pediatric Scoliosis Clinic. His research interests include pediatric spine and cost-effective care. He has been involved in the development of the Vertical Expandable Prosthetic Titanium Rib.
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