Two orthopedic surgeons connected with Becker's to discuss the retail or tech companies they believe will have the biggest impact on healthcare delivery in the future.
Ask Orthopedic Surgeons is a weekly series of questions posed to surgeons around the country about clinical, business and policy issues affecting orthopedic care. We invite all orthopedic surgeon and specialist responses.
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Please send responses to Riz Hatton at rhatton@beckershealthcare.com by 5 p.m. CST Thursday, March 2.
Editor's note: Responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
David Kalainov, MD. Medical Director of Musculoskeletal at Northwestern Memorial Hospital (Chicago). Companies with wearable technologies for healthcare monitoring, in and outside of a hospital setting, will have a huge impact on healthcare delivery in the future. There are several hurdles for wearable technology companies to overcome if data from a wearable is used to direct medical care, including FDA clearance, provider monitoring infrastructure, and payment for devices and services. However, there is a need for more frequent and robust data to help direct personalized care of several common disease states, including diabetes, hypertension, renal impairment and heart failure.
Anthony Melillo, MD. Founder of Bay Oaks Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine (Houston): My answer is Amazon. They have the infrastructure for delivery of medicines and a forward thinking CEO. The other person is Mark Cuban. He has great ideas, money to support his ideas and guts to take on the establishment.