Team Approach

You are the center of the care team – an informed and active participant in your care. Our care is designed around a physician team approach, rather than an approach utilizing floating staff to cover a variety of physicians. At Summit, each physician hand selects a team of medical and administrative professionals who work together to care for each patient. Team members work closely together; they know each other, and they know their physician’s preferences. As a patient, you benefit from better coordination of care, improved quality of care, decreased health care costs, and an enhanced experience of patient service.

Clinic Team Model:

• Patient Coordinator: serves as the communication hub for the team and helps patients with a variety of needs, including communication with team members, coordination of prescription refills, and surgery scheduling.
• Physician Assistant: completes two to three years of graduate-level medical training, based on the physician medical school model, and is qualified to practice medicine under physician direction. Physician assistant responsibilities include conducting examinations, educating patients, writing prescriptions, and assisting the physician in surgery. They practice with autonomy in medical decision making and provide a broad range of diagnostic and therapeutic services.
• Athletic Trainer: at Summit Orthopedics, athletic trainers are certified professionals serving as a physician extender in clinic. They may also assist our physicians with community outreach activities. Athletic trainers obtain patient health histories, perform initial and secondary assessments of patient, apply/remove casts and dressings, apply braces, splints, or other assistive devices, remove stitches and assist with wound care and injections. Our trainers also provide patient education and instructions for in-home exercise programs per the provider’s direction/ protocol.
• Medical Assistant: medical assistants at Summit Orthopedics coordinate day-to-day activities, managing a variety of tasks for our patients. They work closely with our physicians, assisting with various clinic procedures and ensuring that clinic runs smoothly.
• Other Medical Specialists: Some physicians have additional medical team members such as registered nurses, certified orthopedic assistants, and surgical technologists to support specific sub-specialty practices and patient needs.