New Northwestern Medicine Center for Spine Health’s Team-Based Approach Streamlines, Simplifies Care

The Northwestern Medicine Center for Spine Health opened its doors on June 7. The clinic offers a holistic, multidisciplinary approach to care designed to eliminate confusion associated with seeking care for back, neck and spine problems. It is one of the only centers of its kind in the region that integrates orthopaedic surgery, neurological surgery and physical rehabilitative medicine in the same clinic to help ensure the best outcomes for patients.

Alpesh A. Patel, MD, FACS, co-director of the Center for Spine Health and professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Neurological Surgery at Northwestern Medicine, says spine care can be fragmented and confusing. “A number of subspecialties treat patients in need of spine care. Each looks at the problem with a different lens and offers different solutions,” he explains. In the past, Dr. Patel would see patients that had already spent substantial time and energy meeting with other specialists, conducting their own research on spine care and managing conflicting recommendations.

The new Center for Spine Health now eliminates referring physicians’ burden of deciding what path to take for their patients’ spine care. By hosting all spine services such as physical therapy, imaging and treatment in the same place, the center provides patients with a seamless experience. In addition, the shared location fosters improved interdisciplinary communications and coordination to match patient needs with team-driven solutions.

“The Center for Spine Health connects the patient with the right professional at the right time with our team-based model,” says Tyler R. Koski, MD, co-director of the Center for Spine Health and associate professor of Neurological Surgery and Orthopaedic Surgery at Northwestern Medicine. “We keep it simple from the start, and get to a level of knowledge and problem-solving quickly and consistently.”

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