- Welcome to our new faculty member: Flavia Penteado Kapos, PhD, DDS. She started her dental career and completed her post-doc in Seattle, working on pain management research and solutions. One of her research foci is social determinants of health. Many faculty are working in this space, and her efforts will help coalesce this work. This is an area in which we are poised to make significant advances.
- Health care in the U.S. and the importance of thinking about cost-effectiveness. Last week, we showed data on various countries' life expectancy and healthcare expenditures. The U.S. is the significant outlier in that expenditure was much higher than other countries, but life expectancy was average. This week, data shows that the out-of-pocket cost of health care insurance has risen roughly twice the inflation rate over the past decade, a significant cost for U.S. citizens. Data was also shown on the breakdown of the expenses for arthroplasty cases, showing that in many instances, more than half the cost is related to implants and other equipment.
As we think about our role in the future of care, as part of our departmental strategic planning and other DUHS efforts, it will be essential to keep this in mind.
- Sept. 20: Annual State of the Department – 6:30 a.m. Theme: Moving Forward
- Duke/DUHS/DHIP: Dr. Alman showed slides to the chairs and CAOs from Dean Klotman and Craig Albanese about the future of Duke Health. Leadership emphasized that we would continue to support our clinical and academic mission and will work to strengthen all aspects of this. While there are short-term financial challenges, there is a solid plan to meet these. We can help, especially by improving clinical efficiencies and expanding our clinical activity to increase market share. We also need to think about how to optimize our university resources. For instance, space, especially bench lab space, is relatively tight, so we need to work on optimizing how we use our space rather than on an expansion of space. Overall, however, we are on a solid path - quite favorable to all we do in the department!
- May 8, 2024: Mark your calendars for the 2024 Ortho Department Research Day. The Goldner Visiting Professors include Todd McKinley, MD, Orthopaedic Trauma Surgeon and researcher, Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital; and Richard L. Leiber, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer & Senior Vice President, Shirley Ryan Ability Lab.
- Flu Vaccination is required for all SoM faculty, staff, students, and volunteers. The Flu Vaccination Campaign launches on Thursday, September 21.
- Dr. Alman was called for jury duty next week; as a result, there may not be a Department Update on Aug. 23.
Our recent Culture Pulse survey highlighted three areas to improve department-wide: communication, community, complicated bureaucracy, and policies. We are focused on solutions, so I encourage you to participate in various upcoming community-building opportunities that include:
- Sept. 28: Department Social, 3-5 p.m., IPE Building Atrium, 311 Trent Drive, Durham, NC.
- Oct. 28: Department Social, 3-5 p.m., IPE Building Atrium, 311 Trent Drive, Durham, NC.
- Nov. 16: Department Social, 3-5 p.m., IPE Building Atrium, 311 Trent Drive, Durham, NC.
- Dec. 8: Bowling Night with Duke Orthopaedics, 6-9 p.m., Bowlero, Durham, NC. All are welcome!