Practice Trends

It’s no secret that with all the changes in health care, it’s becoming more challenging to schedule patients into the clinic for an evaluation in an appropriate time frame.

If you’re evaluating hospitals based solely on patient satisfaction surveys, you may want to reconsider. A new Johns Hopkins University study (recently highlighted in Kaiser Health News) found little correlation between patient satisfaction scores and quality care.

I always encourage patients to obtain as much information as possible about their course of treatment, including educating themselves about the facilities where they will receive care. Quality and service can vary widely from hospital to hospital, so it makes sense to do your homework before scheduling your procedure.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging, or MRI, is a technology that allows physicians to see musculoskeletal and internal anatomy and diseases much more clearly. MRIs are especially helpful for spine surgeons who need to be very precise about where to operate to achieve the optimal outcome without causing harm to a patient.