4 Points for Orthopedists Working With Baby Boomers

Practice Management

Here are four ways orthopedic surgeons and practices can better suit baby boomer patients.

1. Teach this population the best ways to remain active. The baby boomer generation is one patient group sports medicine physicians should reach out to, says Craig Westin, MD, of Illinois Bone and Joint Institute and the Chicago Center for Orthopedics at Weiss Hospital in Chicago. The baby boomers are trending toward adopting a more active lifestyle, and Dr. Westin says reaching out to them to help with their strength training and functional fitness is another area of great opportunity."Sports medicine physicians will want to help build programs for [the baby boomer generation] so they are strong enough to sustain an active lifestyle," he says. "Physicians can do this by getting involved with hospitals and community organizations to get the word out about [functional fitness or strength training] programs. They can give lectures about exercise as well."

2. Devise treatment based on patients' future goals. Many older patients assume that once an injury occurs, they won't be able to participate in activities again. However, with recent innovations in custom design uni- and bicomparmental implants, bone-sparing knee surgery, orthopedic surgeons are often able to restore older patients' joints back to normal function. "I get a lot of patients from other physicians who say they are 60-years-old and don't need their ACL anymore. We can reconstruct the patient's anatomy with uni- and bicomparmental custom knees and return them to their regular activities just as we can do with younger patients," says Gary S. Levengood, MD, founder of Sports Medicine South in Atlanta. "We save as much of the bone and soft tissue as possible so the knee rotates like a normal knee and does everything a normal knee does. The patient's brain doesn't have to register how to use their knee again."

However, there is also a point when surgical intervention is unreasonable, says James N. Gladstone, MD, co-chief of sports medicine at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City, and surgeons must be realistic with their patients. "Rather than categorizing people by age, we look at each case and each individual on a case-by-case basis and try to tailor the treatment for the problem," he says.

The patients should also understand their role in the recovery process. Older patients may have less time for rehabilitation, says Dr. Levengood, but they need to maintain a healthy lifestyle and complete rehabilitation exercises. "Set the expectations," he says. "Tell them the outcomes are available but they have to work for them."

3. Use the Internet to reach patients at home.
Many baby boomers regularly use the Internet and orthopedic surgeons can use this space to their advantage. Thomas Vangsness, MD, chief of sports medicine at the Keck School of Medicine at USC and the LAC/USC Medical Center, has created YouTube videos of different shoulder and posturing exercises and uploaded them onto his website for patients to use at home. "I tell my patients to go to my website and follow the different exercises for knee and shoulder issues," he says. "For many patients, the videos are a lot better than giving them little sheets of paper with exercise descriptions and pictures. They can actually see how to do their exercises."

4. Include patient scenarios in marketing material. Patients come to orthopedic surgeons because they are in pain, and fear goes hand-in-hand with pain, says Karen Rocks, principle consultant and owner of Sparkfire Marketing. Providing patients with scenarios of cases where other patients with similar conditions recovered and had good outcomes helps ease their nerves. "You have to reinforce that you're trustworthy," says Ms. Rocks. "Scenarios help patients see how the physician can help them, whether through surgery or another type of treatment."

If you want to treat more patients from the baby boomer population, profile older patients. Share stories about patients who are able to return to their favorite activities so that future patients will relate to them.

Related Articles on Orthopedic Surgeons:

7 Ways Sports Medicine Practices Can Cater to Baby Boomers

6 Methods for Positive Orthopedic Practice Promotion

4 Solutions to Common Reasons Why Orthopedic Surgeons Lose Money

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