30 Dec Why Surgeons are Scared of Stem Cell Therapy
R3 Stem Cell was started by a former surgeon who knows all too well why practicing surgeons are scared of regenerative procedures. There are several reasons.
David Greene, MD, MBA, founded R3 Stem Cell to help patients nationwide obtain relief and avoid the need for potentially risky surgeries. “What we’ve seen in over 10,000 successful regenerative procedures with stem cells, growth factors, exosomes and other cells are tremendous outcomes. Patients often avoid going under the knife along with associated risks and rehab. They get back to desired activities with quality of life improvements from procedures that are not only effective but very safe at our Centers.”
Loss of Surgery Income
Surgeons make their income predominantly in the operating room from insurance reimbursement, with additional revenue coming from surgery center ownership. Regenerative procedures mostly occur in the office, and cut down on the number of surgeries that are necessary.
Says Dr. Greene, “Just as plastic surgery shifted decades ago to mostly nonoperative fillers and things like CoolSculpting, regenerative therapies are already keeping people out of surgery for bone and joint conditions. Most joint replacement surgeons will say they want to see more research, stem cells don’t work, and the best option for a degenerative joint should be surgery. We actually have a lot of research already, and more is coming out every month. Being a late adopter of the new technology is simply going to cause an exodus of patients to other specialists, who see stem cell procedures working every day.”
He continued, “Surgeons are not used to providing out of pocket procedures for patients, and tend to be late adopters of new technologies. It makes a lot of surgeons scared to think of losing the revenue they see from the OR and adopting a new model that would involve having to ask for a patient to pay for a procedure. While regenerative procedures do not cure arthritis or other tissue damage, they are nonsurgical, very safe at our Centers and don’t involve implantation of medical devices. They don’t burn any future bridge for treatments. There’s no going back from a joint replacement!”
Avoiding Surgery
Surgeons are used to leading patients toward going under the knife. All of their training has been geared towards a few conservative options, but if a surgery is even a hint of an option that’s what will be discussed.
Additionally, most surgeons are not comfortable discussing options for patients that are new technology and not yet covered by insurance. This means the path of least resistance for the conversation will shift towards a revenue producing surgery that is in their wheel house and does not require a discussion about anything out of pocket.
This type of discussion is scary to surgeons! But it’s also not in your best interest, as you should know about these new, effective options. For these reasons, most surgeons are scared of spending the extra time with patients. Keep in mind – surgery has risks and burns bridges. You should be provided all nonoperative options that can provide relief safely and that doesn’t burn a bridge!
R3 Stem Cell
For over six years and 10,000 stem cell procedures, R3 has been helping practices provide top notch regenerative services. R3 has 34 Centers nationwide!
R3 Stem Cell is the nation’s leader in regenerative programs. Call us today at (844) GET-STEM or visit r3stemcell.com for more information and to see if you are a candidate.
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