Four spine and orthopedic surgeons discuss the top industry trends they're keeping an eye on in 2023.
Frank Cammisa Jr., MD. Hospital for Special Surgery (New York City): At least in the field of spine care, the focus is on evidence-based research, especially real-world outcomes utilizing big data platforms so that we truly understand if our surgical treatments are providing clinically important differences across a complex, highly variable patient population. Secondly, the trend towards more comprehensive multidisciplinary specialty interaction. Tearing down the barriers of compartmentalized medicine approaches, it is extremely important that spine surgeons work together closely with physiatry, neurology, anesthesia and pain management to really take global care of the patient. Finally, the world has changed post-COVID, and being able to interact with patients by new platform mediums like virtual appointments and interactive patient portals allows greater connectivity to your patients, which can only result in better care management.
John Dundon, MD. Morristown (N.J.) Medical Center: I really see artificial intelligence platforms as the wave of the future. The data we are getting from PersonaIQ, robotics, and other patient care management platforms, is helping us to see the data and further refine the way we do knee replacements. The hope is in the future we will be able to use AI and predictive analytics to look for patterns in certain patient populations and deformities to help predict and determine which alignment and orientation will produce the best results in each individual patient.
Deeptee Jain, MD. The Center for Bone & Joint Surgery of the Palm Beaches (Fla.): I have been paying close attention to new medical devices in the orthopedic and spine space broadly across the spectrum. From new interbodies to robotics, from small companies to larger companies. I think we, as surgeons, have a fundamental role in the development of new products to advance the field, and it is up to us to critically evaluate new devices.
Alex Vaccaro, MD, PhD. Rothman Orthopaedic Institute (Philadelphia): We are all watching the trend among insurance companies and healthcare centers to get bigger through mergers and acquisitions. This will only be successful if it decreases the cost of care and provides an improved quality of care. If the cost of care eventually increases due to these trends, what will the federal government's response be to that? At the end of the day, every move we make has to make it less expensive for families to access healthcare. If that does not occur, then we will see the regulators intervene on behalf of the patient.