Jordan M. Komisarow, MD, was recently appointed the Physician Vice President of Duke Neurosciences and Spine. Komisarow and Shilpa Shelton, Administrative Vice President, Neurosciences and Spine Services, are partnering to advance the service line’s strategic vision, clinical excellence, operational performance, and academic mission. This Q&A discusses Komisarow’s vision for the department and plan for developing scalable patient-centered care models.

As the inaugural Physician Vice President of Neurosciences and Spine, how do you envision transforming care for patients with complex neurological and spine conditions?

Duke Health has a tremendous record of marshaling immense resources to alleviate suffering, improve function, support our patients and their families, and provide hope in the darkest of times. The service line is committed to reducing the barriers to continuing this innovate care. Simply put, we are advancing systems and structures to make it easier to be a patient at Duke and easier to be a clinician at Duke.

How will the new service line strengthen collaboration among neurosurgery, neurology, spine specialists, rehabilitation teams, and other disciplines to create a more seamless patient experience?

We align clinical teams, operations, and infrastructure to keep the focus on the patient. Duke leaders across these areas are already doing great work, and we’re building on that foundation. We’re also fostering a culture of engagement by encouraging team members to share ideas and take ownership of change. We want to support our departments as they shape how we deliver care, staff our facilities, manage patient intake and scheduling, and more.

We are constantly reminding each other to view the experience through the patient’s eyes. How do patients move through our system? Which provider do they see first? How can we make that process more efficient and informative? We want every patient’s entry into our system to be meaningful and helpful. That may include expanding telemedicine to increase access and reduce barriers for patients, like time traveling to and from appointments. We’re evaluating all of these opportunities closely.

What opportunities do you see for improving access to specialized neuroscience and spine services across the region?

Part of this work involves examining how different physicians treat the same conditions and how our specialists are distributed across the health system. We’re evaluating our locations and the communities they serve to better understand local needs. We can then expand access to the specialized services those communities need by strategically deploying specialist and subspecialist providers.

People want timely access to care and convenient touchpoints close to home. We’re committed to delivering both while maintaining the high-quality care patients expect from Duke.

What is your approach to building a comprehensive service line that addresses the full continuum of patient care, from diagnosis through recovery?

Some patients interact with our teams once, while others require care across a longer continuum. We want to expand disease-specific programs that map the many patient journeys we see so we can develop care models that deliver the right services at the right time. This includes working closely with our primary care and rehabilitation colleagues to ensure all aspects of a patient’s health are addressed.

Looking ahead, what innovations, programs, or areas of growth do you believe will have the greatest impact on the future of neuroscience and spine care at Duke, and what should patients and referring providers expect in the coming years?

We are always looking for the safest and most effective ways to use current technologies and treatments. Duke has exceptional clinical expertise and treats every aspect of care, from routine to high-risk patients and rare diseases with a high level of specialization. We’re exploring ways to expand that expertise and make it available to more patients. From moyamoya disease, intracranial aneurysms, and vascular malformations to high-risk spine surgeries, we care for a large volume of these complex cases and want to help even more patients.

Duke also excels in cutting-edge research and minimally invasive treatments for neurological conditions, including neuromodulation and focused ultrasound for movement disorders and diabetic peripheral neuropathy. We are on the cusp of many exciting developments and will continue to offer innovative treatments that emerge from advances in our field.

Ultimately, we want patients back on their feet sooner so they can return to the activities they enjoy. That aligns with our goal of connecting them to the care they need more quickly and providing the best possible path to healing and recovery.