Greg Caesar, senior partner and director of business development at Medfluence, recently attended the AAO-HNSF 2023 Annual Meeting and OTO Experience in Nashville. Caesar said he and other members of the Medfluence team enjoyed engaging with conference participants about the latest innovations in health care.
"The modern patient journey has changed the way physicians engage and educate potential patients, but not changed the importance of providing compassionate, quality, cost-effective care," Caesar said in a statement.
The conference took place from Sept. 30 to Oct. 4 at the Music City Center and Omni Nashville Hotel and was hosted by the American Academy of Otolaryngology - Heck and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS), according to the event's website.
Caesar said one highlight of the conference was investigating economic drivers contributing to increased interest from innovative companies in ENT-related products that support minimally invasive procedures that can be performed in an office or outpatient setting rather than in a hospital operating room. In-office procedures typically cost approximately one-sixth as much as the same procedures performed in an operating room.
Another hot topic at the conference was minimally invasive solutions for chronic sinusitis, like balloon sinuplasty. The technique involves surgeons inserting a small balloon into the patient's nose to dilate the sinuses, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. The procedure is beneficial to patients who repeatedly experience sinusitis and have not been able to successfully treat it with medication.
Caesar said companies including Fiagon, Stryker ENT, Medtronic and Acclarent showcased their innovative image-guided navigation systems, which enable surgeons to view the location of their instrument tip on a screen. Medtronic said the real-time positioning information provided by its guidance systems reduces the risk of complications in surgery, especially for patients who have anatomical variations. The AAO-HNS has endorsed the use of image-guided surgery for patients undergoing many sino-nasal procedures.
During a panel at the conference, Dr. Annette Pham discussed "Overlooked Metrics: Happiness and Satisfaction," AAO reported. Pham said that 81% of patients are "not happy with their current medical experience," according to a study conducted by Invoca. She said patients who are unhappy are more likely to look for different providers. She emphasized the importance of providers avoiding burnout and ensuring that their employees are happy as well. "Happiness is a process," Pham said. "Satisfaction is the result. We need to take care of ourselves, too."
