Samuel Joseph Jr., MD, is a spine surgeon based in Tampa, Fla. His practice focuses on treating patients with back pain operatively and nonoperatively. His surgical practice includes minimally invasive procedures, disc replacement and complex spinal reconstruction.
Dr. Joseph was recently named to the inaugural "20 Under 40" list by the North American Spine Society's publication, SpineLine.
His training also helped Dr. Joseph become an expert in revision surgery for patients with failed back surgery. Here, Dr. Joseph discusses the most exciting opportunities to advance spine care today.
Question: What are the biggest concerns for your practice today? What keeps you up at night?
Dr. Samuel Joseph Jr.: It will be extremely important to consider creative ways to make services more appealing to insurance carriers, such as outpatient procedures. We will need to incorporate technology into the care of patients that reduce overall costs. Perhaps utilizing wearables, augmented reality and artificial intelligence in the practice for more efficiencies [will] lower overall costs of certain procedures. Two other concerns are the increasing control insurance companies have on delivering care to patients as well as malpractice premiums.
Q: What are you most excited about in terms of technology advancement in the spine space? Where do you see the best opportunity for growth?
SJ: Continued growth in the area of minimally invasive and outpatient surgery along with stem cell and regenerative science being applied to spine patients, as well as new developments in the area of implants and biologics. The best opportunity for growth lies in surgery centers and putting control back into the physician's hands.
Q: Where do you see your practice growing or evolving in the next five years? What is the next step or evolution in your career?
SJ: The next step is in hiring more like-minded entrepreneurial surgeons who want to keep medicine personalized and deliver the most effective and efficient care. Another area of growth is developing a bundled approach to spine medicine including pain management [and] therapies for preventative care to offer customized treatment plans for patients. We would also like to start a fellowship program.
Learn more about the big trends in spine at the Becker's 17th Annual Future of Spine + Spine, Orthopedic & Pain Management-Driven ASC Conference in Chicago, June 13-15, 2019. Click here
To participate in future Becker's Q&As, contact Laura at ldyrda@beckershealthcare.com.