Same language, same treatment

www.scoliosi.org: the Isico blog that gives patients a voice!

Over the past 13 years or more, we have published dozens of posts and thousands of comments on our forum dedicated to scoliosis.
The Isico forum is a dedicated space where patients can ask questions and swap experiences, but it is also a place where those involved in treating scoliosis can take a more in-depth look at a series of topics and also engage with the patient.  Here is one of our published posts.

ISICO in Italy: “Same language, same treatment”

ISICO works with many operators – physicians and rehabilitation specialists – in clinics covering most of Italy. Sometimes patients aren’t sure (and will therefore ask us) which specialists or centre they should contact. It actually makes no difference, since we strive daily to ensure that each of our clinics offers exactly the same high level of professionalism and quality of care. Everyone in the ISICO family speaks “the same language” and pursues the same goals. For us, who work here, this goes without saying, as this is our established modus operandi.

Scoliosis is not only an infrequent condition (it affects 2 to 4 people in every 100), it can also be devious, that is to say unpredictable! Highly aggressive forms are even rarer. The challenge for the physician is to understand whether your scoliosis is going to be as gentle as a kitten or as aggressive as a tiger that needs to be caged. It follows that only a physician with experience of many cases of scoliosis is fully equipped to interpret the multiple aspects of this complex disease.

According to the relevant international guidelines (http://www.scoliosisjournal.com/content/7/1/3),  the specialist who deals with the treatment of scoliosis must be an expert and must comply with the following criteria:

1. an apprenticeship of at least 2 years alongside a physician experienced in the treatment of vertebral growth disorders (that is, who has at least 5 years of experience in the field);

2. at least two consecutive years of experience in the treatment of scoliosis with a brace;

3. at least one brace prescription per week (corresponding to about 45 per year) in the last two years;

4. At least 4 examinations per week of subjects with scoliosis (corresponding to about 150 per year, for at least two consecutive years).

Consequently, what usually happens is that the expert physician sees patients in large cities that are easily reached and moves from one city to another in order to be able to see a sufficient number of cases and therefore become an “expert.” This is the traditional pattern: physicians move from city to city, and patients often have to travel from small towns to big cities in order to have a consultation with an expert physician.

When ISICO was founded it only had one physician who used to travel around Italy, seeing patients. But then the number of physicians increased, and so did the number of ISICO clinics. But the original concept has remained the same: our physicians travel around, in order to examine patients in other branches; they also regularly frequent the Milan clinic, not only to carry out examinations but also, and above all, to keep up to date with their colleagues and exchange information and opinions.

The therapists, too, work in multiple clinics and regularly meet up, among themselves and also with the physicians, to get updates and to guarantee the teamwork that characterises ISICO.

All this is also facilitated by the use of sophisticated software that, on the one hand, allows constant communication between all the operators involved and constant monitoring of each patient’s situation, and on the other, ensures consistency in terms of the assessment methods and practices adopted.

Even the orthopaedic technicians who work with ISICO as external consultants meet up regularly in Milan: on these occasions, they also see physicians and therapists to discuss the braces our patients are being offered.

Every day we work to build a close-knit and competent team and to organise our work in such a way as to provide patients with the best care available and with as little travelling as possible.

Each ISICO clinic, therefore, has the same characteristics as the others: in Rome, you can see the same physician you would have seen on another day in Milan; similarly, the physician who was in Pescara yesterday is in Asti today. The same goes for the therapists, and this guarantees a consistently high level of performance quality everywhere.

At ISICO, everyone speaks “the same language”, uses the same clinical software, and pursues the same goals: therefore, you don’t need to worry if, when you come to try out your brace, you do not find the same physician who prescribed it.

The experience of our physicians and therapists is guaranteed by the large number of patients treated and by the ongoing professional exchanges between all the ISICO team members.