4 6 S U P P L E M E N T T O O U T P A T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E A P R I L 2 0 1 5
team's risk of radiation exposure, explains Ms. Stevens, who says spine sur-
geons use the technology to know for certain that they're operating at the cor-
rect vertebrae level or that screws have been properly placed.
Returns on investment
Improved patient care is certainly a concern, but surgical service lines also need
to turn profits. Don't discount the potential bottom-line benefits of using real-
time imaging to perform more efficient surgery.
"By performing com-
plex surgeries more
quickly, you cut down on
infection risks and
improve the quality out-
comes we have to report
and get paid on — or not
get paid on," says Ms. Stevens.
"There are several drivers for the hospital," explains Dr. Boling. "One is to get
surgeries done faster, so there's better utilization of the facility. The others are
better outcomes and higher quality of care and fewer complications." As he
points out, reimbursement dollars are now attached to quality-of-care measures.
Reducing the length of procedures and a surgery's degree of invasiveness
could get patients (and surgical teams) in and out of operating rooms faster,
says Dr. Tempany-Afdhal. Could that lead to significant cost savings? "That's the
theory," she says. "I certainly hope that it will."
Current imaging technology might be cost-prohibitive for some facilities.
Not every surgeon needs image guidance, and not every facility should
invest in it. At least, not yet. "Older, very experienced surgeons have
learned how to do procedures without a lot of information," says Dr.
Tempany-Afdhal. "Younger surgeons will learn much faster with the infor-
mation."
Computers and high-definition televisions
were expensive when they first hit the
market, weren't they? It's the same story
with imaging upgrades.
— Clare Tempany-Afdhal, MD, BAO, BCh
