Becker’s Healthcare Podcast – Episode Summary

Guest: Dr. Brandon P. Hirsch, MD, FAAOS, Orthopaedic Spine Surgeon, DISC Sports and Spine Center
Date: December 23, 2025
Host: Carly Beam

Episode Overview

This episode explores the evolution and future of telehealth in spine care with Dr. Brandon Hirsch. The discussion covers telemedicine’s impact since the COVID-19 pandemic, upcoming game changers, ongoing policy challenges, innovations in spine surgery, and Dr. Hirsch’s personal and practice growth strategies. The conversation offers candid insights into healthcare policy, technology, and collaborative reform efforts that affect both providers and patients in the orthopedic spine field.

Key Topics and Insights

1. Dr. Hirsch’s Background and Practice Context

• Practicing in Orange County and North San Diego for eight years, previously in Arizona, trained on the East Coast (00:23).
• Works in a competitive, saturated Southern California market with a focus on spine surgery and innovation.

2. Telehealth Adoption and Its Value in Spine Care

• Telehealth is a natural fit for spine care, with Dr. Hirsch expressing enthusiasm for its benefits, even pre-pandemic (01:01).
• “I view telemedicine as a very positive development, and I think most patients do as well.” – Dr. Hirsch [01:28]
• Telehealth increases access to expertise, saves time/resources for both patient and provider, and enhances convenience.
  • “We live in an era of convenience, where convenience is, is at a premium, really, in any part of our life.” [02:54]
• Highlighted initial obstacles (e.g., setting up tech platforms), now largely overcome with accessible technology like Zoom (02:07–03:50).
• Emphasized generational factors, predicting even wider adoption as technology-native demographics age (03:50–04:52).

3. Policy Challenges and the Future of Telemedicine

• Overview of Medicare’s temporary telemedicine expansions during the pandemic, and subsequent periods of uncertainty as coverage expired or was extended (05:13–06:45).
• “Naturally, the commercial payers will always follow suit of what Medicare does.” – Dr. Hirsch [06:17]
• Advocates for permanent Medicare telehealth coverage to stabilize access and influence private insurers (06:45–07:40).
• Calls for seamless integration of telemedicine into EMR systems, noting that consumer familiarity with platforms like Zoom surpasses native EMR telehealth integrations (07:40–08:25).
• Focus: Reducing friction points for both patients and providers to enhance care quality.

4. Healthcare Reform & Broader Policy Conversations

• Engagement in national conversations about healthcare reform and physician pay, especially through social media and advocacy (08:36–09:30).
• Noted the involvement of business leaders like Mark Cuban in healthcare innovation; cited Cuban’s generic drug initiative as an example of business-driven change (09:30–10:02).
• “It’s really time for us to band together with those in the business world and the political world to try to advance... reform that’s clearly much needed.” – Dr. Hirsch [11:33]
• Expressed optimism that grassroots collaborations could finally lead to substantive reforms.

5. Direct Impact of Policy on Spine Care

• Increased patient access and affordability are critical, given that low back pain is among the most common medical reasons for seeking care (12:08).
• Discussed how payment reform, regulation changes, and rationalizing contracted rates benefit both patient experience and provider sustainability.
• Highlighted the need for stability in telemedicine policies to normalize virtual care delivery.
• Called for reforms such as repealing Certificate of Need laws, allowing physician-owned hospitals, and adopting “site neutrality” for procedure payments (13:12–14:40).
  • “Having a reform like site neutrality for payments would really allow true competition and allow us to reduce the cost of care...” [14:27]

6. Practice Growth Strategies

• Focused on building digital presence, recognizing that online visibility is essential for practice growth and patient acquisition in today’s healthcare landscape (15:00–15:37).
  • “If, if you’re not visible, you know, online, it’s almost as if your practice doesn’t exist in real life...” [15:27]
• Intends to expand practice in specialty areas such as spinal endoscopy and disc replacement.
• Plans increased advocacy engagement at society and grassroots levels, anticipating a surge in policy discussions during the 2026 election cycle (15:38–16:35).

7. Anticipated Disruptors in Spine Surgery

• Predicted growth of endoscopic surgical techniques and peer-to-peer collaboration among surgeons as key short-term disruptors.
  • “I know that the adoption of endoscopy and the ways that surgeons are using it is rapidly progressing...” [16:58]
• Surgeons observing and learning from each other will drive continuous innovation and technique refinement.
• Emphasized digital media’s growing role in practice transformation and patient engagement (17:40–18:10).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “I view telemedicine as a very positive development, and I think most patients do as well.” – Dr. Hirsch [01:28]
• “We live in an era of convenience, where convenience is, is at a premium, really, in any part of our life. There are probably people who will be listening to this podcast that no longer go to a grocery store because they use a product like Instacart… so really, if you look at any other part of our life, technology is constantly making things more convenient...” – Dr. Hirsch [02:54]
• “Naturally, the commercial payers will always follow suit of what Medicare does.” – Dr. Hirsch [06:17]
• “It’s really time for us to band together with those in the business world and the political world to try to advance... reform that’s clearly much needed.” – Dr. Hirsch [11:33]
• “If, if you’re not visible, you know, online, it’s almost as if your practice doesn’t exist in real life because that’s just the reality of how people are searching for healthcare.” – Dr. Hirsch [15:27]

Key Timestamps

• 00:23 – Dr. Hirsch’s background and practice overview
• 01:01 – Telehealth’s role and impact in spine care
• 02:07 – Future game changers and increased adoption of telehealth
• 05:13 – Policy challenges and the need for permanent telehealth solutions
• 08:36 – Healthcare reform conversations and multi-sector collaboration
• 12:08 – Direct effects of policy on spine care access and affordability
• 15:00 – Practice growth strategies in a digital age
• 16:58 – Anticipated disruptors: endoscopic spine surgery and digital transformation

Conclusion

Dr. Brandon Hirsch provides an inside perspective on the ongoing transformation within spine care, from advances in telemedicine and healthcare policy to disruptive surgical techniques and the critical role of digital presence. His advocacy for broad collaboration and technology-driven innovation underlines the challenges and opportunities shaping the next era of spine surgery.