MDNews - Greater Boston

arthritis in the hip, the patient must go back to his or her primary care physician for another referral or independently seek out a specialist in a different field to move on to the next step in treatment. By contrast, in Southcoast's care model, the spine surgeon can send the patient directly to a hip sur- geon, rheumatologist or physical therapist, according to the patient's needs. The spine surgeon can also consult directly with the hip surgeon. In that case, Dr. Langworthy says, the patient could obtain a definitive evaluation and treatment plan by the next working day. "As a system, we are integrating our community clinicians so they can better communicate and not duplicate services," he says. "We are also looking at service lines that are not typically represented in Southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and ensuring those are available as part of an integrated care system. If a patient comes in with hip pain, for instance, we will be able to economically assess the patient, make a diagnosis and offer definitive treat- ment — whether conservative management or a surgical procedure." Incorporating both employed physicians and independent practitioners, Southcoast seeks to optimize care for the community through improved communication, flexible relationships among specialties and assign- ments that make the best use of physicians' expertise. For example, Dr. Langworthy says, physicians who wish to perform elec- tive orthopedic procedures are not assigned to trauma medicine or night shifts. "We have an orthopedic team that handles trauma cases," he says. "Other physicians can concentrate on their sub- specialties. Instead of taking trauma calls during the night, when they have joint surgeries scheduled the next day, orthopedic surgeons can focus on their practice. In this way, our specialists become extremely skilled at what they do, while providing a service line that is integrated with nursing, physical therapy, primary care clinicians, and extended-care clinicians such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants." An Expansion of Expertise Dr. Langworthy came to Southcoast with a specific vision for the orthopedic department. For his vision to come to fruition, he needed to seek out and add new physicians to augment the orthopedic talent already in place in the community. He has succeeded in this goal by recruiting skilled orthopedic physicia ns in ma ny subspecia lties, ensuring patients have access to the care they need without having to leave the system. This year, Christian Petrulio, MD, and Victoria Bruegel, MD, have joined Southcoast, while Gary M. Ferguson, MD, is expected to join in August. Individually, these new hires bring to Southcoast difficult-to-find expertise in a range of disciplines, including hand surgery and total hip and knee reconstruction. "It is ver y exciting that we have been able to recr uit h igh-qua lit y, subspecialty-trained orthopedic sur- geons to Southcoast," says R ichard Miller, MD, Physician-in-Chief of the Surgical Care Center at Southcoast. "Under Dr. Langworthy's leadership, we continue to work to bring specialties A MAGNET FOR EXCELLENCE THREE NEW PHYSICIANS ADD TO THE BREADTH OF SPECIALTIES COVERED BY SOUTHCOAST HEALTH. "IN HIRING NEW physicians, we identify needs in our system and skill sets we'd like to enhance," says Michael J. Langworthy, MD, Chief of Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine at Southcoast Health. "We have brought on board physicians who practice high-quality medicine with a friendly demeanor." VICTORIA BRUEGEL , MD — Hand Surgery Medical school: Yale School of Medicine Residency: Yale-New Haven Hospital Fellowship: Brigham and Women's Hospital Research interests: Hand surgery, spine surgery, juvenile and rheumatoid arthritis GARY M. FERGUSON, MD (JOINING IN AUGUST) — Hip and Knee Replacement Medical school: Tufts University School of Medicine Residency: Harvard University Fellowship: Mayo Clinic Research interests: Total hip and knee replacement, computer- assisted and minimally invasive surgery CHRISTIAN PETRULIO, MD — Hand and Microvascular Surgery Medical school: New York University School of Medicine Residency: Columbia University Fellowships: Columbia University, Kleinert-Kutz Institute– University of Louisville Research interests: Minimally invasive hand surgery, immunotherapy, surgical oncology PHOTO © SOUTHCOAST M D N E W S . CO M ■ MD NEWS Greater Boston | 7

• Cover