Deuk Spine Institute in Melbourne, Fla., is now offering a warranty program for spine care, according to a Becker's Spine Review report. Here are five things to know about the spine practice and the new program.
1. Ara Deukmedjian, MD, founder of Deuk Spine Institute and Surgery Center of Viera, worked with Millennium Medical Management, as well as a group of advisers, to create the warranty program.
2. The warranty program covers the region of the spine undergoing surgery, either the cervical or lumbar but not both. The program covers services rendered either at Deuk Spine Institute or Surgery Center of Viera.
3. Patients do not make any co-pays associated with the procedure after the initial agreed upon payment. The warranty also ensures payment-in-full from payers.
4. The warranty can be purchased in one-year increments up to the patient's lifetime. "We are willing to say the surgical outcome will be very good, so if the patient doesn't have a good outcome we'll cover the costs," said Dr. Deukmedjian. "If patients develop pain in the region of the spine we operated on after surgery, we are willing to treat that inclusive without additional costs to the patient. That means we are doing diagnostic testing, therapy, medication, interventional pain management and surgery as part of the package."
5. Dr. Deukmedjian is the CEO and medical director of the Deuk Spine. The practice also includes Bharat Patel, MD, director of interventional pain management, and interventional pain management physician Vijay Katukuri, MD.