Richard Deyo, M.D., MPH, is the 2015 ISSLS Wiltse Lifetime Achievement Award winner.
ISSLS (International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine) awards a yearly winner for “exceptional achievement” in the spinal field. Nominees for the award should be an “outstanding individual scientist, clinician or basic science researcher who has made a major contribution to the advancement of knowledge in the field of spinal disorders.”
”The main reason why Dr. Deyo got the vote lies in his insistance to emphasize the need to build our practices on evidence. He is appreciated as a moderating voice in a community at times too eager to find indications for surgery. And of course his CV and work as an educator were paramount in the choice, ” Robert Gunzberg, M.D., wrote to OTW on behalf of ISSLS.
NuVasive, Inc. is the sponsor of the award which comes with a $15, 000 grant.
Dr. Deyo is the Kaiser Permanente Professor of Evidence-Based Family Medicine in the Department of Family Medicine at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). He is well known for his published studies which indicate surgeons are performing too many spinal procedures. He is the author of the book, Hope or Hype: The Obsession with Medical Advances and the High Cost of False Promises.
The Irony
There is some irony of a critical spine researcher winning a prize sponsored by, arguably, the fastest growing spine company in the last half decade.
We asked NuVasive President and COO Pat Miles about the award. Miles said, “We are proud to be a supporter of ISSLS and appreciative of past winners (i.e., Steve Garfin, M.D.; Ed Hanley, M.D.), however we have no input in to whom the society issues its Lifetime Achievement awards”.
“The irony is not lost on me, ” Dr. Deyo told us on June 2, 2015. “Indeed, I’m a bit surprised by the award, but pleased and honored, needless to say. And I appreciate NuVasive’s sponsorship of the award.”
Asked about the tremendous rise in spine surgical procedures over the last decade, Deyo said he is the first to acknowledge that modern medicine would be impossible without the medical device and pharmaceutical industries. “I think the increase in spinal fusion surgery in recent years has many factors contributing to it, although I do think that marketing of new devices is one of those factors. In that regard, I long for a higher evidence bar for efficacy and safety of new devices, and stronger post marketing surveillance. I feel that we often know too little about which patients will benefit most from new devices at the time they hit the market.”
Areas of Study
According to Dr. Deyo’s University web page, his areas of study include “patient involvement in clinical decisions, measurement of patient functional status, and management of common outpatient conditions. His current research includes studies of complications from back surgery in older adults, and of opioid-prescribing patterns for chronic pain. Dr. Deyo is an expert on low back pain and was the principal investigator on the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research Patient Outcomes Research Team on low back pain, and a member of the agency’s guideline panel for acute low back problems. He serves on the board of directors of the Informed Medical Decisions Foundation.”
He received his medical degree from the Pennsylvania State University School of Medicine and conducted his internship and residency in internal medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio. He completed his master’s of public health at the University of Washington, where he later was appointed professor of medicine and director of the Center for Cost and Outcomes Research.
Unlike some spine surgery critics who pontificate from self-appointed ethical organizations, Dr. Deyo publishes his evidence and submits himself to peer-review and criticism in medical journals.
