Podcast: Play in New Window
The Ortho Show podcast host Dr. Scott Sigman recently invited on orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist Dr. Peter Edwards. Together, they discussed the benefits of root cause medicine and whole person health for treating patients’ orthopedic conditions.
Dr. Peter H. Edwards, Jr. is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon with a fellowship-trained specialty in Sports Medicine. He is currently practicing at Orthopedic One in Columbus, Ohio. His practice emphasizes arthroscopic surgery of the knee and sports injuries of the lower extremity.
A Columbus native, Dr. Edwards received numerous academic honors while attending medical school at The Ohio State University. He has also been the team physician for the Columbus Crew for over 25 years and is a co-owner of the team as of 2019.
Traditionally, many long-standing orthopedists dedicate a significant amount of time to treating various parts of their patients. “We take care of these individual, small issues within a person’s life: Knee pain, shoulder pain,” said Dr. Sigman. “But we oftentimes forget that the knee is connected to the body.”
Informed by a master’s in public health and preventative medicine from The Ohio State University, Dr. Edwards takes a more nuanced approach towards his patients’ health. His philosophy is one of addressing the root cause of his patients’ orthopedic issues and focusing on preventative measures to improve their health outcomes.
While Dr. Edwards’ primary expertise involves ACL reconstruction and other knee surgeries in sports medicine, he noted that “prevention is more than just preventing sports injuries.” In fact, a significant number of his patients also struggle with obesity, which can significantly affect patients’ knees in addition to their overall health.
“It really is looking at the whole patient and trying to figure out how that impacts their knees.” He said.
For Dr. Edwards, a holistic approach to preventative care includes many different methods of treatment that address different areas in different ways. His arsenal includes everything from injections to corrective insoles to CBD creams. Ultimately, he makes sure his patients are aware that addressing their weight can make a critical difference as well.
Excess weight can both create and exacerbate musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions. Additionally, being overweight or obese can lead to worsened surgery outcomes and recovery. For these reasons, one of the top patient recommendations by the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS) is weight loss.
However, with little time or knowledge to offer weight counseling himself, Dr. Edwards previously had no solution for them. Now, he enlists the help of Prescribe FIT and their full-service remote physiological monitoring program.
By working with Prescribe FIT’s team, Dr. Edwards can help his patients lose weight with little impact to his practice. “It’s a part of our practice that will help them figure out how to lose weight, and it’s been super successful. People love it.” Dr. Edwards said. ”We can introduce [the patient] to a team that has… a health coach, a proprietary app… and a digital scale that talks to their cell phone.”
Dr. Edwards noted that one of the most important aspects of the program is patients’ interactions with their health coach. “They get this weekly call with their health coach who becomes their friend and their mentor, and really is the personal side which is so important to help these people develop an individual, personalized product that can help them lose weight.”
Additionally, the physician and the practice can be reimbursed by insurance for using the remote patient monitoring program. This process is facilitated through Prescribe FIT’s audit-ready billing reports.
Ultimately, Dr. Edwards is convinced that a preventative weight loss service makes “good sense” in medicine. In his experience, everyone from the patient to the physician to the practice benefits from Prescribe FIT. His patients are notably motivated as well. Their average weight loss is a sustainable 6% of their body weight in four months.
“That’s maintainable. It’s a lifestyle change—not just a weight loss program,” added Dr. Sigman. “It’s a way of changing how you decide to live your life.”
Use the audio player above to listen to the full podcast or visit https://theorthoshow.com/ to listen to this episode and more. Visit https://www.prescribefit.com/practices/ to learn more about how Prescribe FIT is leading orthopedic weight loss by extending care beyond the office to transform patients’ life(styles).
Published on October 12, 2022
