Neurosurgical Publication Discusses Importance of Quality Improvement, Clinical Research, Patient Care

The January 2013 issue of the Journal of Neurosurgery (JNS) Publishing Group’s Neurosurgical Focus publication is dedicated to the science of neurosurgical practice. In this issue, eight papers tackle a new era in neurosurgical practice in which there is a shift in health-care priorities (and what drives patterns of medical practice) from medical discoveries and technological innovations to relationships between patient safety and outcomes, quality of care, and the economic implications of keeping people healthy.

In their introduction, editors Anthony L. Asher, MD, FAANS, FACS (Carolina Neurosurgery and Spine Associates & Carolinas Medical Center, Charlotte); Paul C. McCormick, MD, MPH, FAANS, FACS (Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York); and Douglas Kondziolka, MD, FAANS, (New York University, New York) speak of a paradigm shift from an era in which medical knowledge was generated by a small percentage of researcher-physicians to a time in which most physicians will actively participate in the collection of new facts, their interpretation, and the generation of new knowledge. This activity will be made possible by physicians’ ability to deposit, access, and compare clinical data in huge long-term prospective databases of medical disorders and treatments. For more information, click here to read the full release.