Advancements in Digital Health For Neuromodulation With Dr. Allen Burton- EP 15

Advancements in Digital Health For Neuromodulation With Dr. Allen Burton

On today’s episode, Dr. Danko has a special guest that he really admires, Dr. Allen Burton; He is the chief medical officer with Abbott. Dr. Danko and Dr. Burton have a discussion to share about some of the digital advances that are coming along in therapy called spinal cord stimulation and dorsal root ganglion stimulation.

 

Episode Highlights:

• Dr. Burton started his career as an anesthesiologist and specialized in pain management and was certified in Interventional Pain Management. He practiced for 20 years in an academic and private setting. He also shares how he has been a part of clinical research.
• Dr. Burton shares what it meant to him to be a part of clinical trials at MD Anderson.
• For both the clinical trials of DRG (dorsal root ganglion) stimulation and burst DR stimulation, Dr. Burton was one of the clinical investigative sites in their approval for the FDA.
• What is spinal cord stimulation?
• What is dorsal root ganglion stimulation?
• A unique attribute of this therapy is that the patient gets to try it with the trial period; It is unique among medical therapies.
• How do patients navigate with their physician whether or not to go through with it?
• Dr. Danko talks about how he evaluates the results of the trial period with the patient.
• Many patients in the clinic are scared and sometimes have had surgeries and repeated surgeries. Dr. Burton talks about the intricacies and how he helps them see the difference of this procedure.
• What is Abbott’s neuromodulation business about? Dr. Burton explains the neurosphere program and how it moves them forward.
• It is important for the patient to understand the benefits as well as their family and insurance company understand the benefits. Dr. Burton explains the app, My Path that they created that includes educational modules as well as a recording log.
• Dr. Burton reviews the questionnaires that the patient will be walked through in the different time frames along the way so that a comprehensive understanding of how the trial is going can be achieved by all parties.
• How is the insurance company convinced of the necessity of the procedure from the data on the trial?
• What is ahead for research and the automated features of the My Path app? Dr. Burton explains the generation it is on now and what it looks like going forward as well as the benefits. 
• Dr. Danko loves the multiple metrics that are provided in the snapshot report for doctors at the end of the trials. 
• Dr. Danko and Dr. Burton talk about tracking patients long term and how it helps them fine tune their treatment and maintain their care.
• What about virtual clinic? Dr. Danko talks about the struggle it was to transition to it during COVID. Dr. Burton discusses how they use it and the opportunities that it opens up.

 

Resources Mentioned:

https://premierpaintreatment.com/

https://premierpaintreatment.com/locations/

https://www.facebook.com/PremierPainTreatment/

Call the office at 513-454-7246

https://www.abbott.com/