With so much talk about the rising costs of medical care, it’s refreshing to hear about a surgeon and hospital working together to raise care levels while lowering costs. John T. Smith, orthopedic surgeon at Primary Children’s Hospital, was recognized by Becker’s Healthcare as one of 10 Spine Surgeons Leading Spine Outcomes & Cost-Effectiveness Registries. This prestigious, national recognition highlights the exemplary work and impressive surgical outcomes that Dr. Smith and Primary Children’s orthopedic and neurosurgery programs have been generating.

The nationwide registry that Dr. Smith developed, the Chest Wall and Spine Deformity Registry, gives surgeons access to data about patients — particularly in those younger than 10 with early onset scoliosis. The data gathered from this registry has allowed Primary Children’s to track patient outcomes and gain unique insight into areas where we can improve our processes. The knowledge we have gleaned from monitoring scoliosis surgery outcomes has led us to streamline procedures and provide highly effective care with minimal complications — all of which saves patients time and money.

In addition to the registry, Dr. Smith and Primary Children’s have worked together to lower the costs of spinal care in many other ways:

1. Dr. Smith’s extensive experience allows him and his team to complete most scoliosis surgeries in two to two-and-a-half hours, compared to the four or five hours it takes at most other children’s or adult hospitals. This shorter time in the operating room often saves our patients thousands of dollars.
2. By using a reduced-density construct — less instrumentation for correcting spinal problems — Primary Children’s is able to cut approximately 1/3 off the final bill when compared to most hospitals that use a full-density construct.
3. Because of our expertise and advanced treatment protocols, Primary Children’s has an extremely low complication rate. This means that our readmission rate following scoliosis surgeries is minimal, saving patients from incurring additional hospitalization costs.
4. Dr. Smith and his team have developed several innovative techniques — both with anesthesia and with procedures during operations—that help to better manage patient bleeding. When units of blood are used in surgery, it not only adds to the costs of the procedure, it also increases the risk of complications. Dr. Smith has not given a unit of blood to (otherwise healthy) patients undergoing scoliosis surgery in more than three years! This has helped our patients save money not only on surgeries, but also on the additional charges they would have incurred from post-operative complications.
5. Dr. Smith led the development of the Vertical Expandable Prosthetic Titanium Rib (VEPTR 2) — the next generation of growing spine devices. Primary Children’s currently has 86 active patients utilizing the device. In tracking the outcomes of these patients, we are able to reduce complications and improve results.

Our unique ability to save patients money while providing a high level of comprehensive care led to Dr. Smith’s recognition by Becker’s Healthcare. More importantly, our impressive outcomes have made Primary Children’s a referral center for patients across the country in need of spine care. Our neurosurgery and orthopedic programs are high-volume centers, which allow us to continue to innovate and hone our expertise in highly specialized procedures as well as in routine spinal care.