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Host: Hey, welcome back. Just two weeks ago UAMS Health launched a new service called UAMS Health OrthoNow. It’s a walk-in clinic for patients 12 and up. Dr. Paul Inclán, sports medicine orthopedic surgeon with UAMS Health, is here to tell us more. Congratulations on the new place — and this is a great idea.
Dr. Inclán: Thank you, yeah we’re really excited about it. You know, I think last time I was on here I brought a golf club, so I think everybody can take a deep breath — all the teleprompters will be safe in here without me swinging a club. So no, it’s good to be in here. We’re excited to talk about it.
Host: Well, this is something that if you have, or a parent or even a child who suffers an injury — sports injuries obviously common, but any other kind of injury — you may not know where to go. Usually you go to the emergency room and end up waiting a long time to see what’s going on, so this is great to have something so specialized.
Dr. Inclán: Yeah, and I think there’s really two big benefits. One is we give patients access to orthopedic surgeons right away, and I think that’s important to all of us because you don’t want to sit in an emergency department for four, five, six hours to get an X-ray. That’s not good for you and that’s not good for your family, especially if you’ve got a child with you — that’s a little challenging. So we can get you imaging and a diagnosis quickly, which I think is one benefit. But I think the second benefit is the colleagues that I work with are really good at what they do — they’re some of the best in the world.
Host: Exactly.
Dr. Inclán: And so when I see a patient in OrthoNow, if it’s a condition I treat, perfect — we can start your treatment plan, whatever that may be, and typically that involves therapy or injections. But if it’s something I don’t treat, I have an entire rolodex, so to speak, of excellent consultants. I could say, “Hey, Lowry Barnes, I think this patient might need a total knee.” And I have so much peace of mind knowing I’m sending them to someone I would let my family be treated by, which is probably the best.
Host: Absolutely. And you know, I might be oversimplifying this, but when I say you’re sort of cutting out the middleman — with all due respect to emergency room doctors who are fantastic and overworked — but that’s essentially what you’re doing, right?
Dr. Inclán: Exactly. And because of that, since we’re only seeing orthopedic complaints, we have an entire process that’s streamlined. Our X-ray techs are right there; they know which X-rays to get, so you don’t have to get extra ones or additional ones on the back end. We can also help order your advanced imaging, so if you need an MRI, we can go ahead and get that process started. We can put in physical therapy referrals, so it really expedites your care and helps you be a little bit more efficient — it puts you on the fast track.
Host: So let’s talk a little bit about the kinds of injuries that you’re equipped to see, and when people should consider coming to the walk-in clinic as opposed to going to the emergency room.
Dr. Inclán: Perfect. The nice part about being in an orthopedics hospital is we can see most musculoskeletal injuries right there — sprains, strains. Sports injuries I think is where I see a real benefit because sports don’t happen at 2 o’clock in the afternoon — they tend to happen at five, six, seven. So if you’re playing soccer, feel a pop, or sprain your ankle, come on in. And I think the other benefit is if you’ve got a problem that’s been going on for a few days or a few weeks and you just haven’t had time to go to the doctor during the day, we also have after-hours time. So from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. come on over after work — we’re happy to see you and get you in with the right physician going forward.
Host: Do you recommend people call ahead?
Dr. Inclán: So that is an option — you can absolutely call ahead. But this is really and truly a walk-in clinic. If you sprained an ankle, don’t know where to go, come to the Orthopedic and Spine Hospital, walk through our front doors and we’ll see you.
Host: Let’s talk about where those front doors are too.
Dr. Inclán: Perfect — so it’s 801 Cottage Drive, The Orthopedic and Spine Hospital. It is a beautiful hospital that I think was one of the big draws for me to actually start my practice here. And if you’re an art connoisseur, there’s, I believe, over 100 pieces of art by local Arkansans. So it’s just a beautiful building and a nice setting to have your care.
Host: So it’s on the campus of UAMS, right? And the hours there, as you mentioned, are fantastic — 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturdays too.
Dr. Inclán: Correct — and I’ll actually be there from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. this evening as well. But yeah, it’s the weekend hours, the evening hours — huge benefit. I feel like sometimes I’m too busy to go to a physician. You don’t have to do it during the regular business day — you can come after hours or on a Saturday morning.
Host: Are there any sports injuries that you would consider too acute to come there? I mean if you get a compound fracture of your leg, you’d probably want to go to the emergency room, right?
Dr. Inclán: Exactly. So certainly there are injuries that have to be treated in the emergency department, and our colleagues are fantastic about that. If you’ve got bleeding or, as you speak, an open fracture — absolutely that needs to go to the emergency department. And I think one of the benefits is if you’re on the fence, and you feel like you can walk, you’re mobile — come on in, we can see you. And part of being an orthopedic surgeon is knowing where certain injuries should be treated. So if you come in and have one of those injuries that needs more urgent care, we can just send you right across the street to the emergency department, and communication is key — we’ll call the individual that will see you in the emergency department, we’ll call the triage staff and say, “Hey, I have this patient, this is what their workup shows, they’re coming over.”
Host: It should be a great relief and wonderful convenience for everybody who’s got kids who play sports to know this is available.
Dr. Inclán: We’re excited to offer it and we’re excited about what’s happening at UAMS globally.
Host: Congratulations — awesome. Thank you, thanks for having me.
Dr. Inclán: Absolutely.
Host: Dr. Inclán said he now officially feels like he’s from Arkansas because he had to go to his tornado safe space last night — so glad it was okay
