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F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 4 | O U T P AT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E
4
Patient attention
Focused patient care is probably the biggest key to our suc-
cess: We never have more than 1.5 patients per nurse, through-
out the entirety of each patient's stay. The same nurse is with the
patient in pre- and post-op. Patients like waking up to someone they
already know.
When we perform those aforementioned fusions via the abdominal
approach, we have patients walking in the hallway 2 hours later. We
aren't trying to be a general surgery center; rather, we're trying to
keep our volume in line with our nursing ratio. Bigger cases require
more nursing contact, and we don't want to lose the ability to handle
innovative procedures. The business model works because in doing
these bigger, higher-acuity cases, we reap a higher margin of profit.
N E U R O S U R G E R Y
More than 81% report statistically significant improvements in mobility
and decreased pain.
More than 16 peer-reviewed clinical journal articles on MILD have
been published and no major complications have been reported. Its
safety and efficacy have also been validated in 11 clinical studies of 542
patients conducted at leading interventional pain institutions. In one
study from the Cleveland Clinic, functional outcomes included an
increase in standing time from 8 to 56 minutes, and increased walking
distance by more than two-thirds of a mile at 1 year, from 246 feet to
3,956 feet.
— Yogesh V. Patel, MD
Dr. Patel (
dryog imd@coastalpa ing roup.com
) is board certified in pain
management and is based at Coastal Pain Spinal Diagnostics in
Carlsbad, Calif.
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