USF Health patients now have access to a specialized device meant to reduce back pain, thanks to the donation by Excite Medical.

Excite Medical donated two devices – the DRX9000 and the DRX9000C – as treatment options that may prove helpful to patients not benefiting from other standard non-surgical options for easing back pain, said Nathan Schilaty, DC, PhD, assistant professor and the Lincoln Endowed Chair in Chiropractic and Biomechanics Research in the Department of Neurosurgery in the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine.

USF Health’s Dr. Nathan Schilaty and Saleem Musallam, president of Excite Medical.

“Thanks to our industry partner Excite Medical, we can now offer patients a highly advanced non-surgical option for spinal decompression,” said Dr. Schilaty, who also directs the Center for Neuromusculoskeletal Research.

“In addition to providing patients with this treatment as another tool in our non-surgical arsenal, we are collecting data on the use of DRX9000 through evidence-based, peer-reviewed studies, which will better inform the medical community on its true efficacy. Earlier studies on DRX9000 are promising, and this additional data could not only validate its effectiveness but also provide the empirical data needed to expand availability and help more patients suffering with back pain.”

The DRX9000 and the DRX9000C were provided to USF Health as a gift-in-kind through a grant from the Florida High-Tech Corridor to provide clinical care and research. They are non-surgical spinal decompression devices cleared by the FDA to treat patients suffering from incapacitating lower back pain, sciatica, and neck pain caused by herniated discs, degenerative discs, and posterior facet syndrome. Decompression is currently available for spinal levels C1-T1 (cervical spine) and L1-S1 (lumbar spine).

“It is an excellent first choice for those with disc lesions as it is non-invasive and requires no medications,” said Saleem Musallam, president of Excite Medical. “Many patients can experience relief and excellent outcomes without undergoing surgery, avoiding the complications of surgery, and at a fraction of the cost of a spinal surgery.”

Patients of all ages could benefit from the DRX9000 & DRX9000C, although the treating physician may determine if there are exclusionary criteria from medical history. Even those who have had prior spinal surgery may be eligible for treatment at different levels of that previously operated.

Patients typically receive 20-24 treatments over six to eight weeks with each treatment lasting less than 30 minutes. As low back pain can accompany difficulty laying down or getting up, the table is power adjustable, which enables a patient to get on the table in a standing posture and then be gently lowered to a supine position for treatment. After treatment, it will assist them back to an upright posture. While the patient is undergoing treatment, they lay supine and are gently decompressed 18 cycles during the treatment session.

“It is gentle and relaxing,” Dr. Schilaty said, “and many patients will even often fall asleep, as they experience low-back pain relief.” Both the DRX9000 and the DRX9000C are in the USF Health Morsani Center for Advanced Healthcare on the USF campus in Tampa.  

While the devices are cleared by the FDA, treatment may not yet be covered by some insurance carriers.

Call 813-821-8634 to learn more or make an appointment.

USF Health attained a 100% score on its most recent Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) assessment, a measurement required by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to track how well hospitals and medical groups perform on key areas that benefit patients.

“MIPS helps set standards of care, including standards based on cost, and this strong score demonstrates that we are meeting national benchmarks on how we care for patients,” said Terri Ashmeade, MD, professor and chief quality officer for USF Health.

“This incredible score puts USF Health and its accountable care organizations among the very top of practices in this country, showing that we are maximizing value by achieving the highest possible quality outcomes for the lowest cost.”

The 100% score puts USF Health in the Exceptional Performance category, a significant accomplishment given USF Health’s highly specialized group practice and complexity of its patient population compared to the average practice, she said.

MIPS (Merit-Based Incentive Payment System) is part of the Quality Payment Program authorized under 2015 MACRA legislation that introduced a new Medicare value-based reimbursement system. MIPS is one of the ways the Quality Payment Program aims to reward value and outcomes (rather than just volume of care), tying payments to quality and cost-effective care. Performance is measured through four key areas: quality, improvement activities, promoting interoperability, and cost.

Ensuring that USF Health patients have a smooth transition of care from the hospital back into the outpatient practice and avoid readmission is an example of the continuity of care that MIPS is measuring, Dr. Ashmeade said.

At USF Health, the journey to achieve this outstanding MIPS score speaks volumes to how we are, collectively, advancing toward our primary goal of offering advanced, compassionate care to patients, she said.

USF Health recently launched a new service dedicated to hernia repair and is making this available in three Tampa area locations – giving patients across the region greater access to advanced hernia care.

The Hernia Center includes a team of surgeons who offer the newest approaches to open laparoscopic and robotic surgery for all types of hernias, from the simplest, most common to the more rare and complex.

While USF Health has always offered hernia repair, this new center concentrates and centralizes hernia services, an approach that benefits patients the most, said Vic Velanovich, MD, professor of surgery, Director of the USF Division of General Surgery, and the Vivian Clark Reeves/Joy McCann Culverhouse Endowed Chair in Pancreatic Cancer and Digestive Disease.

“This new Hernia Center pools our expertise to improve patient outcomes, better control surgical safety and quality practice, and, with our clinical research arm, bring new diagnostic technology and the surgical procedures for study,” Dr. Velanovich said.

“Our Hernia Center is protocol-driven and evidence-based. This more coordinated care offers a level of expertise only found at USF Health.  We participate in the American Hernia Society’s Quality Collaborative to insure the highest quality of care.”

The USF Health Hernia Center is set up in three sites – the Morsani Center for Advanced Healthcare located on the USF Health main campus in north Tampa, within Tampa General Hospital located in downtown Tampa on Davis Islands, and in the newly opened TGH Brandon Healthplex located on Palm River Road in Brandon.

“With three locations, our hernia expertise is now closer to home for patients across the region,” Dr. Velanovich said.

The team of seven surgeons specializes in evaluating and treating all types of groin and abdominal wall hernia repairs for both adult and pediatric patients.

Hernias can affect any of us, at any age. While most hernias are easy to repair, there are certain types that can be complicated and even life-threatening. There are several types of hernia conditions, and the most common include:

• Inguinal hernia (in the groin)
• Umbilical hernia (in the navel)
• Incisional hernia (at the site of a previous surgical incision and might require abdominal reconstruction)

To make an appointment, call 813-974-0424.