{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.022960725075528703, 'fraction_numerical': 0.002416918429003021, 'mean_word_length': 5.443579766536965, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
Do Educational Programs Leave Surgeons Satisfied?

101 Participating spine surgeons were pleased with an innovative program devised to educate patients and clinicians about spine surgery, says Harold I. Goldberg, MD, lead author of the study that examined the multifaceted intervention. The surgeons reaction to the program, which lowered surgery rates in study communities by 9%, confirms impressions from other geographic areas that surgeons do not relish being out of step with their peers and are eager to critically examine their practice and utilization patterns. Goldberg credits the success of the program to its voluntary and cooperative nature. “All of the intervention components were selected and implemented with local input and consent. Nothing was imposed,” he stresses. Goldberg believes this educational intervention has the potential to moderate surgery rates in high-utilization areas across the United States. He observes that much of the groundwork for this type of program—the preparation and testing of videodiscs and other educational materials—has already been completed. “We believe other communities or regional health plans should consider adopting our approach,” he says. He does offer one caveat, however, and that concerns the availability of valid comparative data on the total rates of spine surgery. “Before our intervention, these surgeons had no idea their community rates were unusually high. Indeed, most were surprised. Seeing that one’s community was well above regional norms was important in building confidence that rates could be safely lowered,” says Goldberg. Do Educational Programs Leave Surgeons Satisfied?