Marina del Rey Clinic Up for Olympic Challenge

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Despite the care they receive during international sporting events, U.S. Olympic athletes are pretty much on their own when it comes to obtaining health care once the applause stops.

Now, a new strategic partnership between the United States Olympic Committee and a small, but internationally recognized Marina del Rey medical practice aims to change that.

The USOC and D.I.S.C. Sports and Spine Center announced last week that D.I.S.C. will become its first official medical services provider under a pilot program to bring integrated care and electronic medical records to Olympic-level athletes.

The local multidisciplinary outpatient clinic has treated several Olympic athletes since it opened in 2007, including weightlifter Melanie Roach. It already is the official medical center of the U.S. Men’s Volleyball Team as well as the National Basketball Association’s Los Angeles Clippers and National Hockey League’s Los Angeles Kings.

Olympic-level athletes generally are responsible for obtaining their own health insurance and maintaining their medical records when they are not officially competing for the United States. As a result, D.I.S.C. founder Dr. Robert S. Bray Jr. and partner Dr. Joseph M. Horrigan were shocked to discover how little information about the athletes’ medical history was available.

“There is immense potential to kick medical care for our Olympic athletes to a whole new level,” said Bray, a neurological spinal surgeon.

D.I.S.C., which has 20 physicians and more than 100 employees, offers spinal neurosurgery, orthopedic surgery, physical medicine, pain management and chiropractic services. Its proprietary Web-based medical records system has enabled Bray and other physicians to securely access patient records around the world, Bray said.

The patient records systems attracted the interest of USOC officials, who have realized for years that their athletes often weren’t getting the best care they needed to stay in top form. If the pilot project works, D.I.S.C. will become one of several regional Olympic medical centers around the country, but Bray would be given the opportunity to export his business and care models to the other centers.

Under the partnership, which will run through the 2012 Olympic Games, D.I.S.C. will administer USOC medical records and streamline care for designated athletes. Financial terms were not disclosed.

“The U.S. health care system is in need of reform, no doubt, but this is a niche where we can make a contribution and, we hope, still have it make some sort of business sense,” Bray said.

Unlikely Reform Boost

The fate of the public option may still be up in the air in the national health care reform debate that continues in Congress, but there is no uncertainly about where the issue stands among L.A.’s Korean-American business community.

A survey released last week by the Korean-American Service & Education Consortium indicates that 92 percent of Korean-American small business owners support a public health insurance option in health care reform.

Their support is bolstered not only by the hardships that immigrant small business owners often have in affording health coverage for themselves, their families and employees, but also their largely positive experience in using the single-payer health system of South Korea.

“There are many wonderful things about America, but I am very dissatisfied with how health care is handled here,” said Jon Ran Kim, whose husband is establishing an import-export business in Koreatown. The Kims’ previous business, an acupuncture clinic, attracted many fellow immigrant entrepreneurs who could not afford insurance.

Around 52 percent of respondents said that they were uninsured, while 30 percent said that none of their dependents has health care coverage. Respondents with at least some insurance paid an average of $1,820 per year for medical expenses. The foremost reason for respondents not obtaining coverage was cost.

The survey, funded by the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, was modeled after a national survey conducted earlier this year by the advocacy group Main Street Alliance.

HealthSport Funding

HealthSport Inc., which develops edible, multilayer film strips that deliver drug or dietary supplements, said last week that its manufacturing partner has agreed to give it a $10 million investment.

SMI Manufacturing will receive a 55 percent stake in the Woodland Hills company in exchange for its investment, according to a stock purchase agreement. The money is expected to accelerate the growth of HealthSport, including development of its next-generation product for its pharmaceutical company customers.

HealthSport moved from Amherst, N.Y., to Woodland Hills in 2007 after acquiring edible film technology developer InnoZen Inc. in a restricted stock deal valued at $40 million.

Staff reporter Deborah Crowe can be reached at [email protected] or at (323) 549-5225, ext. 232.

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