A graduate of Blueprint Health’s accelerator has rolled out a virtual version of grand rounds. for[MD]’s program is designed to make it easier for private practice physicians to get the benefit of skilled specialists from teaching hospitals around the country, starting in orthopedics. It’s referred to as the Orthopedic Education Initiative, according to a company statement.
Physicians from 17 medical schools take turns on a rotation and present a de-identified patient case with a medical history, scans and other points of discussion. Physicians on the network can participate by asking questions and learn different approaches to patient cases. Among the participating medical schools are University of Pennsylvania and Duke University and the Hospital for Special Surgery.
The shift from in-person grand rounds to virtual ones reflects a healthcare industry trend. Hospitals have been making this change because of cost and access issues.
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In a phone interview, co-founder Greg Chang described the program as a another core use case for its physicians network. It was initially designed to cut the amount of time it takes for hospitals to fill positions. “In the ortho space, what we saw when we brought on medical societies and alumni, there was a logical extension of our network and they have asked for this service.”
He added that it plans to roll out other grand round programs in some of 10 surgical subspecialties of interest to its network such as plastic surgery and reconstructive microsurgery. It also has a growing presence in obstetrics and gynecology. Prior to co-founding for[MD], Chang was associate director for clinical operations and planning at Duke University Medical Center.
Physicians have told Chang that the program has helped boost their confidence in patient care decisions. “Receiving direct insight from nationally and internationally reputed experts is empowering when physicians are faced with a particularly challenging diagnosis,” Chang said.
Looking ahead, he said the company’s excited about some upcoming partnership announcements connected to the Centers for Excellence coming up next quarter.
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