Patient Education Committee Update

Jonathan H. Phillips, MD
Patient Education Committee Chair

The Patient Education Committee is charged with the review and development of new patient educational materials.  In addition, with the large revamping of our website underway, we are responsible for reviewing the content as it pertains to patient education.  Finally, we function as an outreach to other groups that provide education to patients.

The Early Onset Scoliosis Handbook has been completed.

The Neuromuscular Scoliosis Handbook has had four edits.  It has been combined and edited and has been sent to the Presidential Line for review.

The first draft of the Sagittal Deformity Handbook has been completed and is in the process of editing.  A selected group will be working on these initial stages before it is resubmitted to the committee. 

Clarification is going to be obtained regarding coordinating the age-appropriate educational material with the Growing Spine Committee as there is a need to define for what age this material is intended.

The committee has discussed the greater patient education and advocacy for scoliosis awareness month and whether it should move the month from June to the month closer to the start date of school.

A list of seven questions were collated from the suggested questions and sent to the committee members.  The members have been requested to administer the questionnaire to ten families and to send feedback as soon as possible.  The questionnaire will then be refined and sent to the Presidential Line. 

Chair Jonathan H. Phillips, MD Committee:  Craig P. Eberson, MD, Matthew J. Mermer, MD, Pier Paolo Mura, MD, Alexandre F. Cristante, MD, G. Ying Li, MD, Raphael M. Marcon, MD, Masood Shafafy, MD, David W. Gray, MD, Samuel A. Joseph, Jr, MD, Kevin M. Neal, MD, Hossein Mehdian, MD, Sanjeev Suratwala, MD.