The Aging Surgeon Program at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore has been developed to offer a comprehensive, multidisciplinary, objective and confidential evaluation of physical and cognitive function for surgeons. The program is designed to protect patients from unsafe surgeons and guard surgeons from arbitrary or unreliable methods of assessing competence or cognitive capacity. Additionally, we aim to support surgeons by identifying potentially treatable or reversible disorders that, if properly treated, could restore or improve functional capacity.
Hospital administrators are already lauding the evaluation as a valuable risk management tool to help them further reduce liability risk.
Note: We cannot assist patients who have complaints about a surgeon. Patients should speak with their surgeon directly, their hospital, their personal physician, or their state medical board.
Why the program is important
Physicians and, more specifically, surgeons (along with U.S. Supreme Court justices and the pope) don’t currently face a mandatory retirement age.
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Surgeons are healthier and living longer than ever before and are choosing to practice into their senior years for a number of personal and even financial reasons. Many surgeons continue to operate successfully and make positive contributions to medicine well into their 70s and beyond. However, subtle cognitive or physical changes that could become barriers to safe practice are often difficult to identify.
Safeguards are needed to not only protect patients from unsafe surgeons, but to protect surgeons and hospitals from liability risk.
Current methods such as certification and peer review are simply not adequate, and most medical staff bylaws do not even address the issue of aging surgeons. Unfortunately, a patient death or serious negative event are currently the only things that prompt action to prevent a surgeon from practicing.
Our program recognizes that while human faculties undoubtedly diminish with age, chronologic age alone is not a fair determinant of a surgeon’s ability to perform his or her duties. The evaluation offers a balanced assessment of a surgeon’s functional age as determined by his or her physical and cognitive capacity and identifies treatable medical causes of impairment.
Patients and society in general take for granted that medical institutions have policies in place to guard against surgeons continuing to practice into their senior years despite diminished abilities. Our program, founded by Mark R. Katlic, M.D., MMM, FACS and his multidisciplinary team, has been established as a pioneering resource for hospitals and health systems throughout the country to fulfill their ethical and professional duty to police their surgical staffs on this critical and burgeoning issue.
Protocol
Participants in the Aging Surgeon Program follow a specific and comprehensive protocol. See below for what to expect before, during and after your time with us.
Pre-Visit Screen
- Client completes history form
- Client sends medical records, including last H&P, last 5 years of discharge summaries, and any actual images (especially MRI, CT of brain and spine—and imaging reports)
Check-In
- Check in to the Delta by Marriott Baltimore North
Day 1 at Sinai Hospital
- Drive or shuttle to Sinai Hospital of Baltimore
- 8:00 a.m. - Welcome, Introduction to the Program
- 8:30 a.m. - General physical examination; hearing screen
- 9:30 a.m. - Neurology examination
- 10:30 a.m. - Physical/Occupational Evaluation A
- 12:00 p.m. - Lunch/Rest
- 1:00 p.m. - Neuropsychology Evaluation A
- 4:30 p.m. - Drive or shuttle to Delta by Marriott Baltimore North
Day 2 at Sinai Hospital
- Drive or shuttle to Sinai Hospital of Baltimore
- 8:00 a.m. - Neuropsychology Evaluation B
- 12:00 p.m. - Lunch/Rest
- 1:00 p.m. - Physical/Occupational Medicine Evaluation B
- 2:30 p.m. - Ophthalmology Examination
- 4:00 p.m. - Exit Interview
- 4:30 p.m. - Drive or Shuttle to hotel; depart for home
Program Costs
The Aging Surgeon Program requires a one-time fee that covers the two-day comprehensive evaluation and resulting report. Additional expenses include travel to and from Baltimore, hotel, breakfasts and dinners.
Please contact us for the current program cost, to learn more about our special rates at a nearby hotel, or to ask any questions. You may complete the contact form or call us at 410-601-9927.
Program Accommodations
Participants in the Aging Surgeon Program will stay at the Delta Hotels by Marriott Baltimore North, which is located only five minutes from Sinai Hospital, in Baltimore Maryland. The hotel is 100% non-smoking, dog-friendly, and is conveniently located near many of Baltimore’s most scenic destinations.
Delta Hotels by Marriott Baltimore North
5100 Falls Road
Baltimore, Maryland 21210
855-516-1090