George Cybulski, MD, an associate professor of neurological surgery at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, discusses challenges in the spinal care industry.
Question: Are you currently working on any spine research projects?
Dr. George Cybulski: My principal focus is socioeconomic factors impacting safety, quality and efficiency of spine care. I continue to research ways to mitigate spinal cord injury and its devastating impact.
Q: What is the biggest challenge facing the spinal care industry today?
GC: The biggest challenge facing spine care today is demonstrating value of treatment modalities. Payers, and to an extent patients (consumers), will increase their focus on costs and results of functional improvement of spine care as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (2010) mandate emphasizing value over volume takes greater hold. Outcome measures and bundled payments for spine care will become integral parts of providing spine care.
Q: How do you think hospitals and surgery centers can better address the divide between healthcare providers and healthcare managers?
GC: Management of healthcare processes must involve tighter coordination between providers with domain knowledge (nurses, physicians, physical therapists) and financial managers to understand the costs and return on investment of spine procedures. Pathways providing the most cost-effective treatments of spinal disorders will require the coordinated efforts of all stakeholders.
Learn more from Dr. Cybulski at the 15th Annual Spine, Orthopedic & Pain Management-Driven ASC Conference + The Future of Spine in June 2017! Click here for more information.
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