I often get asked about what cool things we are doing these days in the practice – affectionately known as The ‘Hood. There’s all kinds of cool stuff out there such as stem cells, the latest total joint replacement, the newest surefire way to detect infections and so forth. The list is endless and everything is cool in my opinion. But the coolest thing of all is what allows us to use all of these exciting orthopedic advances. And what might that be you ask? The straight up answer is:
REMAINING INDEPENDENT AS A PRIVATE PRACTICE PHYSICIAN!
By remaining independent as a practitioner and surgeon, the availability and access to some of the coolest stuff in orthopedic surgery remains at our fingertips. In other words, only the FDA can stop us. It is fascinating to listen to the doctors who sadly have sold their practices to hospitals bemoan the very fact that they have such little latitude in what they do, what they can use and who they see. Their time is spent not practicing medicine but instead achieving hospital derived benchmarks, like who can dispense the most aspirin. I am sad about their poor decision making but frankly, doctors in general have never been known to make smart business decisions.
Remaining independent has allowed us to pursue some of the hottest ideas in orthopedic surgery which obviously benefits our patients.
Our goal is to outfit our patients with the latest, greatest, neatest and yes, you guessed it – the coolest treatment protocols and ideas presently available in the United States of America.
All FDA approved too! I refused to subscribe to the notion that, “if you don’t see it on our shelves then you don’t need it”. That’s malarkey. Our philosophy is that if you don’t see, it we will get it.
Great ideas generate great results. There is absolutely no sense talking to somebody who has sold their practice to a hospital. I guarantee you that you will be streamlined into one of their for profit models which typically involves, in many instances, never seeing a PROVIDER. Remember, they are not called doctors anymore, just providers.
Next time you bump your knee, tweak your back, bite your tongue or get run over by a steamroller, make sure you look for treatment from a practice with a doctor that has refused to sell out to one of the box chain hospitals. I guarantee it will be worth your while.
Happy Labor Day to all my great patients. Stay safe and use your feet, not your hands, to throw firecrackers.
Jonathan Paley, MD
FDA approved orthopedic surgeon