Becker's Spine Review

33 OUTPATIENT SURGERY For more information or to schedule a demo visit augmedics.com © 2020 Augmedics, Inc. All rights reserved. Augmedics and the xvision logo are trademarks of Augmedics. *Demonstrated in cadaver study. The first augmented reality guidance system for surgery, the xvision Spine System consists of a personalized headset which allows surgeons to see the patient's anatomy through skin and tissue as if they have "x-ray vision." The xvision Spine System has demonstrated 98.9% screw placement accuracy* to guide instruments and implants during spine procedures. ® xvision Spine System AG2008 Xvision Half Page AD_8.375x5.25_FN_JG.indd 1 8/3/20 3:38 PM 4 Kansas physicians resign from hospital over CEO salary, medical interaction concerns By Laura Dyrda F our Meade (Kan.) District Hospital physicians with concerns about the CEO's leadership and salary le the hospital, according to local news reports from KSCB and KAKE. e medical staff had previously taken is- sue with CEO Tara Ramlochan's half-mil- lion-dollar salary and her medical interac- tions with patients. Ms. Ramlochan is a nurse by training and joined the health system as the interim chief nursing officer in 2018 be- fore being promoted to CEO. e four physicians who resigned in Septem- ber previously brought their concerns to the hospital's executive board, but their issues were not addressed. e former Meade Dis- trict Hospital physicians aren't the only phy- sicians to leave their hospital in the past few months; Southfield, Mich.-based Beaumont Health has also seen recent physician depar- tures, which prompted more than 20 donors to send a letter to the board on Sept. 18 re- questing action to address the clinical staff 's concerns. A survey of physicians and nurses raised is- sues with Beaumont's proposed merger with Advocate Aurora Health and have been un- nerved by medical staff loss. e letter asked hospital leaders to postpone the transaction until the clinicians' concerns were addressed. In another example, Zachary Sussman, MD, formerly of Physicians Premier ER, under- went a COVID-19 antibody test from his em- ployer in May and was billed $10,984 a visit that included the test. While his insurance paid the bill, Dr. Sussman was shaken by the amount charged and resigned. "I have decided I can no longer ethically provide medical directorship services to the company," he wrote in his July 13 resignation email, according to ProPublica. "If not out- right fraudulent, these charges are at least ex- orbitant and seek to take advantage of payers in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic." e pandemic is also placing stress on hospi- tal-based physicians, especially those most at risk of contracting the virus. Some are retir- ing or leaving the hospital to avoid exposure to COVID-19, according to e Washington Post. Michael Peck, MD, an anesthesiologist, retired in April aer a 12-hour shi intubat- ing COVID-19 patients. "I've never been this scared," he told e Post. "When it was over, I said to myself, 'is is crazy. I'm done.'…e environment was frightening." ASCs offer an alternative to hospitals for physicians weary of contracting the infection since surgery centers don't treat COVID-19 patients. In January, eight emergency room physicians quit Chicago-based Community First Med- ical Center over safety concerns related to supply shortages, staffing issues and equip- ment problems. e physicians then joined Little Company of Mary Hospital and Health Centers in Evergreen Park, Ill. n

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