Dallas County Living Well Magazine September/October 2020 | Page 54

ORTHOPEDIC SURGEON,
SPINE SURGEON, NEUROSURGEON
TOP DOCS OTHER HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS
&
Livingwell
TOP DOCS
AND OTHER
HEALTHCARE
PROVIDERS
2020
SPINE CARE
IN TODAY’S
WORLD AND
TELEMEDICINE
As a leader in spine care around the world, Texas
Back Institute had to make a dramatic shift in delivering
cutting edge, quality spine care during this pandemic.
With the onset of social distancing and working to keep
the public safe, TBI, by adopting telemedicine practices
and by encouraging people to stay at home as much
as possible, successfully set new standards in treating
neck and back pain.
“At first, patients were concerned about having
a quality clinic visit with their doctor while using
telehealth,” says Dr. Derman, “but once the doctors
and patients figured out the workflow to optimize
telemedicine for their visits, they all became very
comfortable.”
An important element of a patient visit when a patient
has neck or back pain is the ability to review their
radiology reports with their doctor. Radiology reports
can consist of x rays, an MRI or a CT scan. Dr. Bhuva
says, “Our physicians are able to share their screen
during the telemedicine exam, and go over the patient’s
radiology reports with them.”
Our pain management physicians and spine surgeons
carefully review the patient’s medical history and then go
through a detailed discussion with the patient about their
neck or back pain. “One of the most important elements
of a patient encounter is listening to what they say about
their pain. The physician—patient conversation provides
90% of the information the spine doctor needs to make
the diagnosis and plan the next investigation or step in
treatment,” says Dr. Lieberman.
Often a physical exam is still needed, in which case,
with the appropriate personal protective equipment
applied to both the doctor and patient, we are doing the
in-person visit. Dr. Guyer found “that the recent experience
verifies that patients are comfortable with a spine
telemedicine visit, they find these visits to be easier to
manage in their schedules and often report they feel they
had more quality time with their doctors than with in person
visits.” To schedule a telemedicine visit with your Texas
Back Institute doctor today, call [phone] or go to
texasback.com.
52 • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020