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BACKROUND: I worked
at the U. of Wa. surgery program labs for Dr. Henry
Harkins and Dr. Merindino from an early age and learned
to operate before I knew why. At Cornell Med. and in the
U. of Wa. surgery program from '69-'72. (U/W, King Co,
V.A., etc) I started to learn "why" and worked for Drs.
Cobb and Alvarez on Medic One project as well. '72-3 was
E.R. work/management and sabbaticals as a surgeon
overseas. '73-6 was U. of Ky. ortho residency with extra
spine work in Lexington and a hand program in Louisville
with Dr. Kleinert. '76-2002 was general and hand/spine
work in Olympia, Wa. with teaching at the "U", teaching
for the family practice program and staff at St. Pete's
in Olympia and lecturing around the northwest. My bad
back caused me to stop full time surgery in Oct. '02.
Staying in touch with the leading edge of orthopedic
surgery: I am in frequent contact with operating
surgeons, professors of orthopedic surgery, the
literature and meetings on the latest up dates including
surgical technique lab work such as the American Academy
of Orthopedic Surgery Learniing Center in Chicago. |
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WHAT I DO: I perform
I.M.E.'s (independent medical examinations). I actively
interview the examinee, do a physical exam and speak
with their doctor and the requesting party (insurance
company, attorney, third party administrator) to answer
their questions.
I teach orthopedic medicine, surgery and forensics to
both private and public sector groups involved with this
work.. |
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REPORTING: I am
asked to comment on pre-existing conditions, physical
findings, differential diagnosis, apportionment,
impairment, disability and work issues such as
employability and restrictions in orthopedics; since
these are real people, there is a lot of overlap with
neurology/neurosurg., vascular med/surg, rehab. medicine
including stroke and spinal cord injury and psychiatry.
I write opinions and testify for both plaintiff and
defense positions in state and federal jurisdictions all
over the U.S. |
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KNOWING THE BEST AVAILABLE
INFORMATION: Well- reasoned decisions based
on E.B.M., evidence based medicine, is the standard for
treatment as well as injury/medical malpractice cases.
I'm on the phone and at the meetings frequently to
discuss these cases with the professors who do the
R.C.T.'s (randomized controlled studies) and publish
peer-reviewed work. I'm in the databases continually at
the NLM, Cochrane and others and in contact with
practice guideline writers for occupational and
non-occupational orthopedic surgical conditions. I help
edit/re-write and sit on the Advisory Board for the new
A.M.A. Guides to Permanent Impairment Edition 6. My
C.M.E. far exceeds requirements for hands-on surgical
and forensic orthopedics from respected organizations |
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