Douglas Won, MD, is the director and founder of SpineCARE. He is also a fellowship-trained spine surgeon wit ha special interest in minimally invasive and endoscopic spine surgery.
The physicians at the practice use pain mapping to pinpoint and isolate the cause of back and neck pain. When MRI and CT scans are inadequate, the specialists use medication-filled x-ray injections to find specific nerves causing the pain and treat their patients accordingly. The group also includes options beyond surgery, offering a more full spectrum of patient care.
Dr. Won discusses the group and how he plans to maintain success in the future.
Question: What makes your spine center unique?
Dr. Douglas Won: SpineCARE is a fully vertical integrated spine center. By using a multidisciplinary approach via all areas of spine specialists, we can take a customized approach to patient care. At SpineCARE, patients may be evaluated and treated by a chiropractor, physical therapist, physical medicine rehab specialist, interventional pain anesthesiologist, and/or spine surgeon.
Q: How is the center changing to meet the needs of patients in today's healthcare environment?
DW: SpineCARE developed a spine-, pain- and orthopedics-focused surgical hospital. By developing a facility focusing on patients with musculoskeletal and neuro disorders, truly comprehensive spine care can be provided to the patient.
Q: In addition to clinical care, what initiatives are the surgeons involved?
DW: We are involved in our communities. Our clinic sponsors academic scholarships to local high school students who are involved in community service, maintain high academic achievements, and are also in need of financial assistance. We also actively support local school foundations to provide innovative education tools.
Our surgeons also are design surgeons for leading medical device companies and continuously develop new minimally invasive devices.
Q: What are some of the biggest challenges you've faced over the past few years and how are you addressing them?
DW: Bureaucracy and compliance requirements are rising. Physicians are spending more time addressing non-clinical issues, which leads to less clinical time devoted to patient care. As our organization is growing, hiring an administrator focusing in compliance and all other responsibilities is how we address the issues.
Q: Where do you see the biggest opportunities for growth and development in the spine department in the future?
DW: The next level of integration is partnering with primary care physicians to further develop the vertically integrated specialty care.
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