Building a Concussion Program

About the Course

A clinical and operational blueprint for building a comprehensive, revenue-generating concussion program — from baseline assessment protocols and multidisciplinary team design through AI-powered monitoring tools and research integration.

Target Audience

• Neurosurgeons
• Neurologists
• Sports medicine physicians
• Physiatrists
• Athletic trainers

Course Format

• 11 lessons
• Lifetime access
• Certificate of completion

Curriculum

1. The Concussion Opportunity: Clinical & Business Case

Free preview — 20–25 min

Learning objectives:

• Articulate the epidemiological and clinical gap that concussion programs address
• Build the revenue case for a structured concussion program within a neurosurgery practice
• Identify your target patient population and referral sources

Key takeaway: A structured concussion program is both a clinical obligation and a highly efficient revenue diversification strategy for neurosurgeons.

2. Your Clinical Care Pathway: From First Visit to Recovery

~25 min

Learning objectives:

• Walk the end-to-end pathway — initial visit, targeted testing, feedback visit, and the re-evaluation cycle
• Know what actually happens at each visit, and what your staff can run versus what needs you
• Know which ancillary tests to order, and WHEN — by indication, not reflexively

Key takeaway: Here's the whole pathway in one breath. The initial visit characterizes the problem and triages who needs what. Targeted testing fires by indication — neurocognitive, vestibular, vision, sleep, EEG — never as a reflex panel. The feedback visit turns those results into a written rehabilitation plan the family can follow. And the twelve-week re-evaluation cycle repeats the measures and ends at a clear decision: recovered and discharged with precautions, or escalate and re-loop. Build that loop, give it an off-ramp, and you don't just see concussions — you run a concussion program. Adapt it to your own setting; this is the template I use.

3. Baseline Assessment Protocols

25–30 min

Learning objectives:

• Select and implement appropriate neurocognitive baseline testing tools
• Build a standardized intake workflow for concussion patients
• Train non-physician staff to administer baseline assessments

Key takeaway: Baseline testing is your clinical infrastructure. Without it, post-injury assessment is guesswork.

4. Acute Concussion Management

25–30 min

Learning objectives:

• Apply current evidence-based guidelines for acute concussion management
• Implement return-to-learn and return-to-play protocols in your practice
• Identify red flags requiring escalation to imaging or neurosurgical intervention

Key takeaway: Most concussions resolve with early active recovery. Your job is identifying the ones that won't, and managing them differently.

5. Post-Concussion Syndrome: Recognition & Approach

25–30 min

Learning objectives:

• Identify PCS symptom clusters and their clinical implications
• Differentiate PCS from comorbid psychiatric and vestibular conditions
• Build a multidisciplinary treatment pathway for PCS patients

Key takeaway: PCS is not one condition. Treating the dominant symptom cluster rather than the syndrome label gets better outcomes.

6. AI-Powered Assessment Tools in Concussion Care

20–25 min

Learning objectives:

• Evaluate digital concussion assessment tools against clinical workflow needs
• Integrate a remote symptom tracking platform into your concussion program
• Use AI risk stratification to prioritize follow-up and intervention

Key takeaway: Digital tools don't replace clinical judgment — they give you data between visits so your clinical judgment is better informed.

7. Building the Multidisciplinary Team

20–25 min

Learning objectives:

• Identify the core and extended team members for a comprehensive concussion program
• Structure referral relationships that support bi-directional patient flow
• Choose between co-located and virtual team models based on practice size

Key takeaway: Your program is only as good as your team. The neuropsychologist and vestibular PT are not referral options — they are program requirements.

8. TMS and Emerging Treatments for PCS

25–30 min

Learning objectives:

• Understand the evidence base for rTMS in post-concussion depression and cognitive symptoms
• Navigate CPT coding and payer coverage for TMS services
• Integrate NeuroStar or comparable TMS systems into a concussion program

Key takeaway: TMS is underutilized in PCS. The evidence is building, the coding exists, and the patients who need it are already in your practice.

9. Coding, Billing & Documentation for Concussion Care

25–30 min

Learning objectives:

• Select and document the correct CPT codes for concussion-related services
• Avoid common documentation errors that lead to denials and audits
• Build a billing workflow that captures all revenue generated by your concussion program

Key takeaway: Concussion care is a high-value service that is chronically underbilled. The codes exist — you just need the documentation to support them.

10. Sports Partnerships & School Programs

20–25 min

Learning objectives:

• Develop partnerships with athletic departments, leagues, and schools
• Design a sideline protocol that generates referrals and builds program visibility
• Create a concussion education program that drives long-term community relationships

Key takeaway: Athletic trainers are the gatekeepers to the sports concussion population. Build that relationship first and everything else follows.

11. Building a Research-Integrated Concussion Program

25–30 min

Learning objectives:

• Understand the basics of IRB oversight and clinical research in a private practice setting
• Design a data collection infrastructure that supports future publications
• Use published outcomes to strengthen payer relationships and referral credibility

Key takeaway: A research-integrated program is not academic indulgence — it is the highest-leverage marketing strategy available to a clinician.