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Dr. Prem Ramkumar Podcast by Commons Clinic, The Surgeon’s Record

Dr. Prem Ramkumar: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Surgeon

Dr. Ramkumar was recently featured on The Surgeon’s Record, a podcast presented by Commons Clinic with Moderator, Dr. Ben Schwartz, Editor in Chief

The podcast intro:

What do you get when you combine a surgical robotics enthusiast, a high-volume Orthopedic Surgeon, a health tech expert, and a published thought leader? You get Dr. Prem Ramkumar—a modern-day polymath redefining what it means to be a physician in the 21st century. In this week’s episode of The Surgeon’s Record, we explore Prem’s unconventional path, from childhood lab intern to orthopedic innovator.

Dr. Prem Ramkumar: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Surgeon by null

Episode #7

Read on Substack

Here is the transcript from the Podcast:

Welcome to this edition of the Surgeon’s Record webinar presented by Commons Clinic. Today, I am honored to have with me a fellow orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Prem Ramkumar. He’s both fellowship trained in joint replacements and sports medicine orthopedics, which is a rare combination. He writes articles for Forbes. He’s published quite a bit in orthopedic journals,

0:21

both on orthopedics and on technology in orthopedics. He’s a clinical innovator and he walks the walk and talks the talk. Prem, tell us a bit about yourself. How did you get to where you are right now?

0:33

Well, it’s been a long journey, although it feels very quick because I’ve really enjoyed the whole process of this. I basically started at a very, very young age, around 11 or 12 years old by accident. I found myself having an opportunity to be in the lab of Dr. Harry McKellop, who, for those who don’t know,

0:57

he’s the one that made ultra-highly cross-linked polyethylene a viable option for total hip arthroplasty. And the way it worked out was honestly serendipity. I applied to intern at a couple places because our school wanted us to be a little bit less nerdy. They failed. And I first applied to Trader Joe’s. They said, no, you’re too young.

1:19

And then the second place was this place that was on the way that actually replied to my email. And that was Dr. McKellop’s lab. One of his grad student assistants helped me join there. And I was essentially like their janitor for their lab, changing like synovial fluids, being around all these artificial implants around the year 2001.

1:43

Right when things were turning for arthroplasty and I thought orthopedics was just like that lab everywhere. Just groundbreaking innovation all the time, extremely dynamic. Everything you do is meaningful and everything you do is groundbreaking. And I basically got obsessed with orthopedics at that young age. Also, you know,

2:03

the common influences like being an athlete into sports medicine and all that stuff. And I just found that I was really, really into reading and learning about this field. And the European model kind of just made the most sense for me where they focused on anatomic regions. I know in America here, it’s just I just do joints.

2:23

I just do sports. And for a patient, that’s a nightmare. But in Europe, I just do hips. I just do knees. You take care of it all. And I’m kind of jealous of our shoulder colleagues here in shoulder and elbow that take care of everything from arthroscopic cuff to reverse and failed shoulder replacement.

2:43

So I wanted to break the mold. And I knew with that timeline at age 12 that knowing I wanted to be a hip and knee specialist, I could craft my life with honestly around that because I wanted to start focusing on that. I knew technology and business was going to be very important because right when I

3:02

was reading and learning, that’s when value-based care became a big deal. And so I was like, wow, doctors are behind the eight ball on that. We should probably pay attention. And by the time I was getting closer and closer to being ready to go on and start to be a part of a practice,

3:19

It was very obvious in the last seven, eight years that another recurring theme was doctors were going to be behind the eight ball in technology. So I targeted experiences and educational platforms that would position me to be technologically savvy, as well as orthopedically savvy. And I also knew that, you know, I wanted to be sports and joints,

3:46

but not of the shoulder, but just of the hip and knee. So I positioned myself to graduate college at a younger area, then position myself to do a tech-focused MBA program, then position myself to get fellowships in arthroplasty and sports medicine at places that would help me customize and create the practice I wanted.

4:05

And that was honestly the amount of time it took to lay down that groundwork was 22, 23 years. I’m 30. I’m 34 now. And this is exactly how I planned my life to be for the most part. Crazy. Crazy. But it’s crazy.

4:21

Yeah, that’s true. Yeah, I was throwing dirt at my brother in the backyard at 12 years old, I think. So that’s amazing to have that amount of foresight. Yeah, I didn’t figure things out until I was, you know, probably five, six, 10 years into practice, you know, approaching 40.

4:33

So I think that’s awesome that you really had a vision and executed on it.

4:37

So then, you know, take us through, you go through these fellowships, you go through training, you know, you’re coming out, you’re evaluating practice models. There’s academics, there’s traditional private practice, there’s employed models. You know, what was important to you?

4:53

What were you looking for in order to be able to kind of set the practice you wanted to set?

4:57

And then, you know, that eventually leads you to comments planning.

5:00

Yeah, it’s honestly, I try to keep things very simple. I knew I wanted to go home. Whatever would set me up to go home in Southern California, because I know this market, I know what it has, and I know what it doesn’t have. And I felt I could offer something from the clinical perspective that would add value.

5:18

back home so that was the first important thing second I wanted to be a part of a group that believed in my belief that this was the way there aren’t many people that just do hips and knees like my lineups are we’ve talked about this been offline like it’s weird it’s like revision hip scope complex ACL

5:37

followed by HIPAA servicing, followed by a PJI case. That’s one day, one very long day for me. But that’s truly what my practice is, and it’s exactly what I wanted it to be. And I wanted to do that at home, taking care of the people,

5:50

bringing home the best of what I could learn from the best of institutions. And I always respected, as you just heard, the merits of research and academia, but I did not think that the academic… confines today in 2025 were best serving what I was trying to accomplish because

6:14

for me I feel seeing having been at multiple institutions that a lot of the physicians are very hamstrung by being in certain academic areas it’s a very problematic situation where um even if you want to do research you may not have the support even if you want to do what

6:35

you want to do clinically you may not have the support and in private practice you know the good of it is that you can do what you believe in but obviously the converse is if a covid happens or something horrible happens you’re on the hook but I know who I am.

6:51

I know I can do meaningful research on my own. I don’t need an academic institution to do that for me, especially when it’s digital and technology-based. So I didn’t feel like that was important. Clinically, I needed partners and people that would believe in my belief.

7:06

And I know I found that in Andrew Wassef and the Commons Clinic and the people that supported me. And that’s just been a very good boon. And I think so far… the business proposal I built around my academic and clinical practice is right so far.

7:25

Awesome. And so obviously you’re familiar with LA, it’s coming home. How have you found building your practice in LA competitive market, big metropolitan area, you have large health systems that you’re competing with. So how do you come in and establish your practice? How do you let patients know? Because you have a little bit of your needs practice,

7:44

you know, focusing on anatomical areas, but do a little bit of everything in those anatomical areas. How do you differentiate yourself? How do you build a practice? How do patients find you? How do PCPs, you know, find what you can offer?

7:56

Yeah. So first is like the vision. Do patients believe in your vision? Yeah. I think the answer is resoundingly yes. They want an expert. I believe I have proven I have that. Secondly, they want someone where they can establish a rapport and a relationship with despite what administration and a lot of the pressures,

8:19

downward pressures we receive is that we want to just turn and burn. They want someone that they can establish a relationship with that they can longitudinally follow up. My practice being preservation to arthroplasty to failed arthroplasty lends itself to that. And so no one knows what problem they have, whether it’s a hip or a knee or,

8:39

you know, sometimes a spine. But, you know, once they get to me, it’s not, it doesn’t get that much more complicated. I’m not sending out patients with a hip or a knee issue to a sports medicine or arthroplasty colleague. So from that standpoint, navigationally, I think the patients believe in this one-stop-shop mentality.

8:55

When you come to see me, although it’s It’s certainly a little trite. And then for the actual nitty-gritty of this, you have to meet patients where they’re at. And right now, I think a lot of doctors don’t meet patients where they are. And right now, people live online. They live on their smartphone.

9:12

And the way you find a doctor is by searching and really being… authentic first of all like i know a lot of people worry about what they put us post on social media and like people look through my social media profile and they’ll see you know new research study some insight and then something ridiculous

9:32

about the lakers or taylor swift or the nba or something that i actually care about and you know the most authentic conversations i have are ones that are true to my my spirit and i think like when they look up a doctor they’ll look at their google reviews they look at what makes them them

9:47

And I can hold a lot more meaningful and enjoyable conversations when they know what they’re getting coming in. And I’ve really built a website with a marketing team that has helped me bring in plenty of patients that has been very useful. And all that is kind of like… the icing on the cake.

10:10

The foundation is being good stewards in the community and joining a practice in Long Beach, start by the Wasif’s and, you know, Andrew Wasif, his father, Ezzat Wasif, that’s the foundation where they built the relationship with the doctors. And I told them both when I joined, my job is to uphold your reputation first and foremost,

10:26

and second is to expand on that. And that’s just a private practice mentality. You have to, these people are your neighbors. These people are in your community and they have to, you have to connect with them. And I really regretted how in certain academic settings people would just, you know, castigate or condescend the private practice doctor because,

10:50

oh, they came from an outside hospital or, oh, these people aren’t qualified. I’m sorry. There are plenty of private practice doctors, if not more private practice doctors I know that are more qualified than academic physicians. And this isn’t meant to be bashing on academia, but… together, we are not, we’re not a unified specialty at all.

11:09

It’s, it’s better when we’re working together. And right now, you know, the way I built this practice is by being just open and honest with patients, open and honest with my fellow doctors. And I think that’s just, you know, underscores the authenticity that I hope that they gather from my online presence, as well as, you know,

11:28

going on meeting meaningful connections with people.

11:31

Yeah, that’s great. Do you find patients come in and, and, reference something they’ve seen online or do you find patients? How do you know that it’s working? Do you get feedback? Do you track it? How do you monitor the success of what you’re doing online?

11:47

Well, right now, I mean, I’m 34. So I have a lot of energy right now than I will tomorrow or 10 years from now or 20 years from now. So I actually allow patients, establish or new ones to email or text me directly.

12:02

Not my personal phone, but another phone that I can easily change or block if someone abuses it. But the first thing is I’m okay with this access starting out so I can modulate and see what’s going on. And then I can also react and respond appropriately if there’s an issue.

12:19

Because don’t have that network that a big academic healthcare system may have. And even then, I’ve seen that go so far back that they can’t even access their doctor. So access is very important. I think they really like that. The second thing is that with the allowable access that I give them,

12:37

I’m actually building the communication and logging all the messages that they send to me. into an AI model so that I can eventually create a digital twin of myself? And how would Prem Ramkumar reply to this message if I get it five to 10 years down the road? So they’re contributing to my research,

12:55

they’re contributing to my automated communication system, and they’re just making life easier for me down the road. So I view that right now as an investment as well as a learning tool about my practice and seeing how things can get better. And then I also essentially am offering them something that they haven’t seen before,

13:13

which is digital footprints. So we enroll all our patients that are surgical into a monitoring program where it essentially looks at their sleep, step count, activity, what their surgery was, gives them a touch point that they can access. And I think it’s much more high tech and modern than what we’re used to.

13:32

Yeah. And how’s the reception been on the part of patients? I mean, how much time do you spend discussing with patients, you know, what you’re doing? And then what’s the feedback from patients? Are they all on board? Is it a mixed bag? What’s been the reception to technology, the way they’re using it?

13:49

That’s a good question. I mean, some people, of course, are like, no, that’s too much. I’m like, okay, that’s fine. Some people just want you to look them in the eye and build a connection and tell them what it is, and that’s fine.

14:01

I learned that very quickly to read the room from what a patient wants from Dr. Riley Williams, chief of sports at HSS. I mean, there is no better room reader, I think, than him and patient reader. and so i’ve basically come up with okay is this patient here because they want a

14:18

service or do they want a relationship if they want a relationship i’ll put all the technology down but if they want a service i’m going to out service you know a lot of people by giving them access and giving them the digital content of their injury their recovery the planned surgery the steps all of that

14:37

And of course, you know, some people, if they sign up for surgery and they’re still a bit analog, then I will just print it out for them and have them read it. But it’s there. That’s the current model. And so far, it’s going pretty well. Not too cumbersome. Awesome.

14:51

Yeah, no, I think it’s the way things are going. I think the patient population is getting more and more tech savvy. And I think they’re going to be looking for those kinds of tools as a differentiator. Anything from the PCP perspective? I mean, do you provide similar access to PCPs or what’s been your approach to sort of,

15:07

you know, overcoming the referral barriers, the frustrations that PCPs sometimes have getting patients into C specialists?

15:15

Yeah, it’s a tale of two cities in California. It’s either you have an HMO and you’re stuck in arbitrary authorization, slower world land, which is unfortunate and sad to say. If you have a PPO, you get things done faster, but… it may not always be fair to the patient or to the, or to the surgeon or,

15:36

you know, to the system. But, um, the short answer is a PCP runs a lot of the HMO world and they are quarterback. And I, and I, you know, circle back with them or office does a great job of circling, um, back with them and communicating what’s done.

15:50

And at this point, like I said, you know, we’re in the community. So we have these people’s phone numbers now. So we just talk if there’s a patient of concern or the patient that doesn’t seem to get it, then we tend to swarm as appropriate, or at least that’s how I do it.

16:05

Yeah. And, you know, I mentioned HMOs and PPOs. Has anything from the commons clinic side of things, you know, really trying to dig into these value-based care contracts, have you found that beneficial or where do you see that playing a role in your practice?

16:18

Yeah, I mean, certain patients, um, get unfortunately more access depending on their insurance that’s just a fact of life i try not to look at that but it does dictate when i’m able to see patients back faster like if i need an mri and a 22 year old i know i can’t see them back

16:36

with until three weeks if they have an hmo and that’s just sad and then if it’s a ppo i can see them back within a week and so commons clinic has essentially helped us fast track and swarm all patients a little bit better than we might have in previous years.

16:53

Because now we have the support to be able to navigate these kinds of murky healthcare waters, especially in California, to get patients the best care that they want.

17:05

Nice. And so you talked about technology in the office. What about in the operating room? Are there any particular technologies? Are you a robotics guy? Are you… You know, sensors, are you, you know, 3D imaging? What kind of technology do you like to use in the OR?

17:22

I’m a very heavy technology user, not just because of who I am, but because I use the Mako, Striker Mako, for every case, for joints at least. And I do that specifically because, one, I think it gives me more comfort. Two, I think it decreases my potential outliers and potential problematic cases. But three, and most importantly,

17:50

I think we’re headed towards an area in medicine where there’s going to be guardrails on how we do these turn and burn operations like hips and knees. I think they’re going to want to know our final balancing numbers or at least have that be the standard of care where we’re documenting. These patients,

18:09

just like we’re documenting leg length discrepancies, and one of the most common litigation pain points is, well, we’re documenting our balance numbers, just like we document our op reports. That, to me, is, I think, where we’re headed, because at some point, some senator or some relative of a senator is going to have a failed joint replacement,

18:27

and they’re going to realize that’s equivalent to cancer care, and it’s a big problem. And so… Someone’s going to look back and be like, what if we just got the primary done correctly? And what are we doing to make sure these primary, one of the most highest volume procedures that we pay for are done correctly?

18:43

And at some point, I think that’s where the technology can really help. It’s a flight recorder for the operation. So that’s why I personally believe in it, too.

18:53

Yeah, what’s your thoughts around skepticism? I agree. I think the robots give us a lot of information. I think they are sort of a recording of the operation and what you achieved, what you planned, what you actually achieved. The data is still a little bit all over the place in terms of kind of clinical outcomes.

19:10

And what you described isn’t necessarily looking at clinical outcomes, but looking at sort of can you go back and look at how the operation was done. You know, are we there yet? How do we get there? What’s the kind of the future of this technology? And how do we prove that the return on investment is there?

19:26

And it’s kind of the reality matches the hype with technology.

19:30

Yeah, I mean, great question. So first of all, the literature around robotic technology in particular is big. Kind of poor because journals do, and you’ve seen me talk about this, journals do a really good job of masking any industry. Like they’ll mask an implant that’s failed and just say, this cementless implant failed,

19:50

but not mention it until you have to go find the actual article. And a robot, people won’t say what company or what robot it is. And there’ll be one paper about the Rosa that’s amazing on the chronoplane, but six degrees off in the sagittal plane. That to me should be postered everywhere.

20:07

So if you’re going to use a robot, you should know, and you’re going to use the Rosa, you should know in the sagittal plane, that’s a problem. And at least in that generation of that paper. Whereas the Striker Mako robot, if it has a shortcoming or if it has outcomes,

20:21

we kind of just need to not lump sum all the robots as equal because we’re advanced and we’re beyond that. And so… Robotic technology, in my opinion, is a game changer for multiple reasons. But like you said, certain people feel like it’s not necessarily great or doesn’t help them.

20:44

But if we’re committed to improving, how do we know we’re actually improving? It’s like saying I want to lose weight. but judging it based off of how your pants feel when you wake up on morning, just like when we’re shucking a knee, is that too much or too little play?

20:58

Like, it’s probably better if you just have a weighing scale. So that to me is like, it’s a commitment to getting better. And if we’re really just slamming down joints more and more, we should probably do this really well. And I’m not saying the robot’s going to be the final thing we all use in 25 years,

21:15

but it’s certainly a… a stopkeeper or at least a stopwatch of what we’re doing in the operation.

21:23

Yeah. So where do you think we will be in 25 years? Are the robots going to be doing the surgeries themselves? Is it going to be, you know, some type of, you know, AR or VR? You know, how is this going to evolve?

21:35

Where’s robotics going next? And then, you know, 2025 years from now, are we putting total joints in?

21:41

Interesting. So, all right. When it comes to total joints in 20 to 25 years, I think we are going to be all using some form of technology, whether it’s robotic or AR. And I think that’s going to trickle down to still the American way everyone chooses to skin the cat that they want to do it.

22:02

But I really don’t see any future for manual instrumentation for non-robotic or non-technology joints anymore. Because how many people do you know, Ben, that are using, that are doing their total needs without jigs? because jigs were relatively new and so like people used to really just you know

22:21

eyeball it yeah and so and so now like okay what we’re really defending now is the jig okay so then what’s the next thing we’re going to defend you’re going to do a case without a robot instead of just using ar and vr when you don’t have to crane

22:36

your neck and then there’s some study that comes out that says you know craning your neck leads to acdf rates for 5x higher than what so of course you’re going to use ar vr that’s going to be like hopefully what people in my kids generation are going to be talking about but i think what we’re really talking

22:53

about is you want to die on the hill of a jig like give me a break why don’t we die on the hill of a three-dimensional scan we’re we’re beyond that

23:02

Yeah, I think it’s interesting times, certainly in arthroplasty, and particularly if you have an interest in technology, the way things are going. Along those lines, looking to the future, not just of technology, but really the future of practice, there’s a lot of negativity swirling around healthcare, being a physician.

23:24

There’s a lot of people who I think either go to medical school and don’t want to practice at all or feeling burnt out and want to get off the front lines and go do something in technology. You’re proving that you can do both. You’re proving that you can be innovative.

23:37

You’re proving that you can practice and have a busy practice and a productive practice, but also have these outside pursuits, write for Forbes, do research, be happy into technology. Is that really the future? Is that burnout proof? Can everybody be a Prem Ram Kumar? Or how do we make it so that people want to be innovative,

23:57

but also want to practice beyond the front lines where we really need people?

24:03

I’m going to answer what I think you’re really asking. So you can’t… My father, my parents weren’t orthopedic surgeons. They didn’t take me to mission trips in Africa to hand me a scalpel at the age of 12 when I knew I wanted to be an orthopedic surgeon and say, here,

24:21

go cut on some poor people and let me teach you how to do surgery. No, that’s not what my upbringing was. I loved orthopedics because of what it is, and I still love it with a passion. That is my North Star. Because no one can hand a 12-year-old a scalpel or a 16-year-old or a 20-year-old

24:40

or a 24-year-old, the only way I could feel like I was working towards this moment in my dream was to learn all the stuff in the periphery while still focusing on the appropriate educational or clinical task for my stage. So in high school, I made sure I did well in science.

25:01

In college, made sure I did well in biomechanics and physics and so forth. Same thing in med school. You better crush and become a good doctor first. And then residency, you better know the actual orthopedic stuff. All the peripheral stuff, the Forbes, the research, that was all…

25:19

labor of love because I had a lot of energy and passion because I had the fundamental love for orthopedics and wanting to make this specialty better I could see it 22 years ago that we needed to have some kind of bridge between arthroplasty and sports medicine like we’ve talked about this before where the sports medicine people

25:41

may or may not have as much respect for the joint replacement and vice versa. And when we’re talking about the same joint, there’s a lot of big differences, surprisingly, between these two subspecialties. There needs to be a bridge between that. And if I could tell that as a 12-year-old,

25:56

then I know it’s very obvious for a patient to be able to tell that. And they can tell it as soon as they walk into a sports medicine clinic versus an arthroplasty clinic. So what I, what I think you’re asking is, is really like, how do we recreate this model of, you know, doing these juxtaposition things?

26:11

Like it all comes down to passion and obsession. Are you loving what you’re doing? If not, you need to get out. You can’t really just pick this life or pick this pathway or pick this field because you want the things you need to enjoy the things specifically.

26:27

You need to enjoy the questions that keep me up at night. Like for, for example, I, What I think about all the time that occupies my brain space when I’m not in the clinic or the OR is how do we identify knees three-dimensionally to communicate

26:42

this to other patients to say this is what this patient needs for this operation using the constraints of the industry standard implants. What bony resections can be made to make that patient’s recovery faster and easier? And how do we start with the foundation which is anatomy? And for me, That’s what I think about.

27:00

Secondly, what I think about is what is basically hip preservation concepts. How do we prevent someone at the age of 35 or 40 from getting a hip replacement, especially when hip resurfacing implants are going out of fashion? Sorry, not out of fashion, excuse me, but more they’re being recalled because of their expenses being too much.

27:22

It’s really sad that the Birmingham is going away. And so I don’t really think about what’s my next Forbes article or what’s my next PubMed link that I can hit a certain milestone. I truly don’t care. What I care about is the burning questions in orthopedics. And the thing that burns me up is…

27:41

a year or two years ago when I’ve written the Forbes articles is how have surgeons been able to somehow find themselves at the bottom of the food chain? And Ben, this is the way your voice is so important. It’s just crazy to me how this is happening because if we don’t defend or take care of ourselves,

27:59

there’s nothing to fight for, which means my life passion is a total waste if this field isn’t standing in 20 years. We can’t even afford to do the procedures. So something’s going to come to a head and I’ve kind of taken a step back because it’s not going to be,

28:17

it’s not going to be a one person show. It’s going to have to be at some point people stopping the standard.

28:23

Yeah. I think that’s a great way to bring it full circle. I totally agree. Yeah. I think in orthopedics, we circle the wagons very well. I think we are very proud of our specialty and we’re willing to fight forward and be innovative and That’s what kind of brought me to commas, the work commas is doing.

28:41

I think your point, you know, you can’t fake passion. You know, the things that you do and everything that is an offshoot of that really just comes from, you know, a passion. It’s not you’re trying to distract yourself with these things. It’s that they just are a natural offshoot of what your passions are and what

28:55

you’re interested in. I think that’s a great message and a great, great way to wrap up any final thoughts, anything top of mind. Yeah.

29:04

Yeah, the thing I would say is for those who are listening, all three viewers or maybe fewer who want to actually listen to me, not you, Ben. Everyone wants to listen to you. But what Commons does right that most people don’t get is that they are the people rejecting the status quo.

29:23

They are the people that are standing up for the orthopedic surgeons and the doctors that say, hey, patients – Wake up, you are getting completely taken for a ride by these big systems that are consolidating and consolidating. You’re getting charged $20,000 for just taking a foot inside the building under

29:42

this name called the facility fee that makes no sense. And it’s like being forced to eat food for the rest of your life at Disneyland or at an airport where you just accept that the prices are insanely high when you’re at your peak vulnerability. That’s what healthcare is.

30:01

It’s eating at Disneyland or airport all day because you have no other choice. And Commons Clinic is rich for rejecting that. And it’s inspirational for saying, no, this is not okay. And it’s not just defending the private practices. It’s not just like, It’s not just like uniting doctors against academic doctors. That’s not what that is.

30:30

It’s bringing doctors together to be able to restore patient-centered medicine with physician-led care. And that’s kind of the crux of all. So that’s what I would like the big takeaway point to be for what Common stands for and represents.

30:47

Awesome. And you identified that at 12. It took me until I was into my 40s to figure it out. But at least we figured it out together here. We’re on the same page. And it’s been a pleasure to speak.

30:58

If anybody wants to find you or reach out to you, what’s the best way to find you or connect?

31:04

Sure. They can email me at info at premramkumar.com. P-R-E-M-R-A-M-K-U-M-A-R.com.

31:12

Awesome. Yeah. Appreciate it. Prem Ram Kumar. Sports medicine doc, total joint doc, technologist, publisher, Forbes article writer. Thanks for coming on. I really enjoyed having you.

31:25

Ben, thanks. You’re the best. Thanks for all you do and fighting the good fight. Appreciate it.

Prem N Ramkumar MD, MBATags: News|

About the Author: Prem N Ramkumar MD, MBA

Dr. Prem N. Ramkumar, MD, MBA, is a dual fellowship trained orthopaedic surgeon with focused expertise in hip and knee conditions, from Sports Medicine/Arthroscopy to Joint Replacement/Adult Reconstruction. Dr. Ramkumar treats patients at Long Beach Lakewood Orthopedic Institute serving Orange County, Los Angeles, Long Beach and surrounding Southern California areas. He received his medical education and surgical training at Cleveland Clinic, Harvard/Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Hospital for Special Surgery – the #1 ranked orthopaedic hospital in the country. He was privileged to serve as Assistant Team Physician to the NBA's Brooklyn Nets and MLS' Red Bulls during his time at Hospital for Special Surgery. With over 124 peer-reviewed publications, 11 textbook chapters, published 10 articles in Forbes (among other circulations), Dr. Ramkumar lectures nationally and internationally and serves as the Associate Editor for Digital and Emerging Technologies for Arthroscopy, the Journal for Arthroscopic and Related Surgery.

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Long Beach, California 90808

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Lakewood, CA 90712

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