NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--forMD, a leading physician education and collaboration network, announced today the launch of a national, virtual grand rounds. Through forMD, orthopedic programs at 17 of the leading medical schools in the country such as Duke University, Hospital for Special Surgery, and University of Pennsylvania are leading discussions on forMD around interesting orthopedic patient cases. Faculty, residents, fellows, and alumni of orthopedic surgery programs on the physician network will have real-time access to the virtual rounds called the Orthopaedic Education Initiative (OEI).
On a rotating basis, faculty at each institution present a de-identified patient case with medical history, imaging, and other details for discussion. Physicians on the forMD network can then ask questions and learn how national thought leaders treat difficult patient cases. Nearly 20% of all orthopedic surgeons in the country have already participated in the OEI.
According to Richard Mather, MD, Assistant Professor at Duke University Medical Center, interacting with key opinion leaders has typically been rare.
“Traditionally, the only way to access the expertise of thought leaders at other institutions has been annual society conferences and visiting professorships,” said Mather. “But these in-person interactions can be difficult to scale. forMD and the Orthopaedic Education Initiative allow my colleagues and I to instantly access the expertise of my peers throughout the country.”
Grand rounds, one of medicine’s oldest and most important teaching tools, are typically attended by an organization’s physicians, fellows, and residents. A physician expert presents a patient case for discussion and participants learn how to treat a particular type of diagnosis. Because each organization has its unique areas of expertise, connection into other institutions is not only useful but can also lead to better patient care.
“forMD and the OEI has given me a way to learn from thought leaders and offer my expertise to my colleagues in a way that hasn’t been possible before,” said Samir Mehta, MD, Chief of Orthopaedic Trauma at University of Pennsylvania. “We can use the platform to not only share cases, but benchmark and easily understand how others are treating patients.”
“How medicine evolves is a direct function of the collective knowledge of physicians and their ability to, as a profession, discuss and study current practices and outcomes, ” said Greg Chang, CEO of forMD. “The OEI increases the frequency of these interactions and accelerates this evolution.”
