As a specialist in orthopedic surgery, Dr. Aaron Morgenstein helps patients with musculoskeletal disorders and injuries. He became an orthopedic surgeon to combine his knowledge of medicine and engineering after obtaining his BS in engineering from Miami University. Later, Dr. Morgenstein completed his medical degree at the University of Kentucky, then completed an orthopedic surgery residency at the Wellstar Atlanta Medical Center. Since then, he’s been committed to improving access to specialty care and enhancing care for musculoskeletal injuries. Dr. Morgenstein recently celebrated his one-year anniversary with Sitka Medical Associates and we asked him a few questions about the benefits of telemedicine and how we can expand access to expert specialty care across the nation.
Before 2020, what was your perception of telemedicine and how has it changed?
Before the pandemic, it was difficult for patients to seek specialists online or access any kind of virtual care. Specialty care was hard to access, and some patients had to wait a long time and travel great distances to be seen by a specialist. The pandemic helped accelerate how we make care more accessible through telemedicine and vConsults (virtual consults). This is why I joined Sitka Medical Associates–to provide virtual consults to primary care providers around the country and help enhance the level of care for musculoskeletal injuries.
What are the challenges facing telemedicine and vConsults (virtual consults) today? What are the benefits?
Currently, the biggest challenge for orthopedics is changing the belief that all musculoskeletal injuries need to be managed in-person by a specialist. They don’t need to be. In fact, we need to help patients and clinicians recognize that not all orthopedic patients need to be seen in the clinic or hospital. There are many acute and chronic injuries that an orthopedist can manage remotely. Moreso, there are a growing number of patients requiring surgery today, but we can see those patients before and after surgery via telemedicine.
How do you keep abreast of the latest developments in the healthcare industry?
Like most of my peers, I continue to rely heavily on journals and literature searches online to keep up with the developments and innovations in medicine. These days, because of the challenges with in-person events, I spend more time online watching educational videos and attending virtual medical conferences too.
What is one thing you hope will change for good within the healthcare industry?
With the Sitka platform, I hope that more patients can be managed locally, requiring less unnecessary transfers to a higher level of care or referrals to a subspecialist. They deserve access to high-quality care without the barriers that exist today.
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Interested in joining our team of virtual care specialists? Learn more about Sitka Medical Associates.
As a specialist in orthopedic surgery, Dr. Aaron Morgenstein helps patients with musculoskeletal disorders and injuries. He became an orthopedic surgeon to combine his knowledge of medicine and engineering after obtaining his BS in engineering from Miami University. Later, Dr. Morgenstein completed his medical degree at the University of Kentucky, then completed an orthopedic surgery residency at the Wellstar Atlanta Medical Center. Since then, he’s been committed to improving access to specialty care and enhancing care for musculoskeletal injuries. Dr. Morgenstein recently celebrated his one-year anniversary with Sitka Medical Associates and we asked him a few questions about the benefits of telemedicine and how we can expand access to expert specialty care across the nation.
Before 2020, what was your perception of telemedicine and how has it changed?
Before the pandemic, it was difficult for patients to seek specialists online or access any kind of virtual care. Specialty care was hard to access, and some patients had to wait a long time and travel great distances to be seen by a specialist. The pandemic helped accelerate how we make care more accessible through telemedicine and vConsults (virtual consults). This is why I joined Sitka Medical Associates–to provide virtual consults to primary care providers around the country and help enhance the level of care for musculoskeletal injuries.
What are the challenges facing telemedicine and vConsults (virtual consults) today? What are the benefits?
Currently, the biggest challenge for orthopedics is changing the belief that all musculoskeletal injuries need to be managed in-person by a specialist. They don’t need to be. In fact, we need to help patients and clinicians recognize that not all orthopedic patients need to be seen in the clinic or hospital. There are many acute and chronic injuries that an orthopedist can manage remotely. Moreso, there are a growing number of patients requiring surgery today, but we can see those patients before and after surgery via telemedicine.
How do you keep abreast of the latest developments in the healthcare industry?
Like most of my peers, I continue to rely heavily on journals and literature searches online to keep up with the developments and innovations in medicine. These days, because of the challenges with in-person events, I spend more time online watching educational videos and attending virtual medical conferences too.
What is one thing you hope will change for good within the healthcare industry?
With the Sitka platform, I hope that more patients can be managed locally, requiring less unnecessary transfers to a higher level of care or referrals to a subspecialist. They deserve access to high-quality care without the barriers that exist today.
-
Interested in joining our team of virtual care specialists? Learn more about Sitka Medical Associates.
