At the annual meeting of the American Orthopedics Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS), Dr. Dominic Carreira delivered a presentation entitled “How to Successfully Incorporate Research and Outcomes Collection to Be Successful in Private Practice.” Drawing on his years of experience of private medical practice and medical research, Dr. Carreira talked through the value of research and outcome data collection work, and explained how other medical professionals could implement similar approaches in their own work.
Increased Focus on Outcomes
During the practice management symposium at the AOFAS conference, Dr. Carreira explained how outcomes can help to guide providers in understanding the results of surgical procedures. He noted that, within the wider medical community, there has been increasing emphasis on patient-specific factors and patient-reported outcomes in judging the quality and success of surgical procedures in recent years.
Delivering Value: Sharing Outcomes and Patient Progress Data
Dr. Carreira explained how these outcome studies that are completed online, for example through groups like the MASH Study Group, assist doctors in tracking the progress of their respective patients. These same outcomes, especially when pulled together with the medical outcomes of other medical providers, can be powerful guides in decision making for determining the highest quality of care in the treatment of various injuries and diseases that cause foot and ankle pain.
Overcoming Challenges to Outcome Data Collection
Over the course of his presentation to his fellow members of AOFAS, Dr. Carreira highlighted the many challenges he has faced when creating an effective system for this outcome data collection. Dr. Carreira shared his experiences of founding and coordinating two multicenter studies, MASH Study Group and MASTAF Study Group. Dr. Carreira also suggested that, in the years ahead, both the government and insurance companies will have an increasing role in determining the value of specific surgeries, based on the outcome data. According to Dr. Carreira, many physicians believe that doctors themselves should have an important role in determining which factors are studied, given that those doctors understand the diseases and their effects better than government or insurance employees.
More information about Dr. Carreira’s research is available in the Research section of his website.
