Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/344009
W HATEVER THE TERMINOL- OGY — accountable care, the healthcare continuum or seamless transitions — the patient-centered healthcare model tends to be associated with the primary care provider and the management of chronic conditions. However, patient- centered care has the potential to be much more. At Southcoast Health, the Department of Orthopedics, under the direction of Michael J. Langworthy, MD, Chief of Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine, has embraced a vision of wrap- around patient care. "The South Coast of Massachusetts has had a good representation of ortho- pedic practices for a very long time," says Dr. Langworthy, who joined Southcoast Health in 2013 with a mission of construct- ing a multidisciplinary model of care. "The main issue traditionally has been that so many services are siloed by specialty and subspecialty." Patients customarily return to their primary care physician at each step in the treatment process, Dr. Langworthy explains, leading to delayed care transitions. For example, he says, rheumatology, physical therapy, occupational medicine and primary care are often segregated. If a patient with back pain visits a spine surgeon, only to learn that his or her condition results from Southcoast Health: Integrated One-stop Shop for All Orthopedic Needs AT SOUTHCOAST HEALTH, PATIENTS BENEFIT FROM ADVANCED MEDICAL TREATMENTS IN A CONTEXT OF SEAMLESS CARE. By Jennifer Webster COV ER FE AT UR E Michael J. Langworthy, MD, Chief of Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine at Southcoast 6 | Greater Boston MD NEWS ■ M D N E W S . CO M