Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1305916
38 HEALTHCARE NEWS 'It's a game changer': Dr. Christopher Good performs AR-assisted spine surgery at Virginia hospital By Alan Condon C hristopher Good, MD, on Oct. 8 performed a spinal fusion with the Augmedics Xvision Spine System, an augmented reality platform approved by the FDA in December. The procedure took place at Reston (Va.) Hospital Cen- ter to address severe spinal stenosis and progressive nerve damage in a patient from Minnesota. The AR system allows surgeons to visualize the anatomy intraoperatively and navigate instruments and implants while looking at the patient instead of a remote screen. Augmedics plans to revolutionize the way spine surgeries are performed, resulting in faster, safer and more efficient procedures. "It's a game changer," Dr. Good said. "I can literally see the 3D picture inside [the patient] as well as a comput- erized target drawn on the bone showing where I need to go." He believes the AR platform will be particularly useful for revision surgeries "because there is abnormal anatomy and we will actually be able make adjustments very eas- ily as we are navigating during surgery." n Hospitals will rate EHR interoperability, usability, cost in federal survey By Laura Dyrda H ealthcare providers will have the opportunity to provide feedback on their EHR's interoperability in the future through a 28-question survey. HHS contracted with e Urban Institute to develop the survey as part of the 21st Century Cures Act of 2016. On Oct. 13, the first version of the survey became available. e Urban Institute posted a dra of the criteria online this pat summer for a 60-day comment period and made revisions based on public feedback. e firm received 31 comments from organizations including the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, Epic, Cerner, Allscripts, Meditech and several clinical societies. e comments consistently mentioned concerns over how long it would take to complete the questionnaire and the level of data collected as well as the accuracy of data based on respondents. Commenters also recommended adding information about social determinants of health, objective usability measures and the patient experience. e revised questionnaire asks participants to rate their satisfaction with their EHR vendor, whether they would recommend that ven- dor and satisfaction with interoperability. e survey also gathers information on how participants rank several areas, including: • Usability of the EHR • Workflow integration • Communication • Safety • Cost • Contractual information • Vendor support n ADVERTISINGINDEX Note: Ad page number(s) given in parentheses ADVERTISER Augmedics. augmedics.com (pg. 33) Kuros Biosciences. cs@kurosbio.com / kurosbio.com (pg. 40) Life Instruments Corporation. lifeinstruments.com / (781) 849-0109 (pg. 27) National Medical Billing Services. nationalascbilling.com / (866) 948-7673 (pg. 13) Pacira BioSciences, Inc. exparel.com (pgs. 7-8) Xenco Medical. xencomedical.com / (858) 202-1505 (pg. 3)