Spotlight Physician: MDVIP-affiliated physician, Dr. Michael E. Monaco, the Chiefs' Head Team Physician for the past 29 seasons. 🩺

Behind the success (or learning activities often called failures) of any individual, athlete, or team is another team.

We are not talking about the supportive coaches and parents but the medical team behind sporting activities. Often, they are the unsung heroes behind the athlete or team. Whether physical or mental health care is provided, they are as much a part of the success as the front-line people who play on the field or are interviewed on television.

Today, we want to recognize one of those Physicians and his teams work with the Kansas City Chiefs. We’d also like to acknowledge the opposing team and highlight the hard work all of the NFLPS medical teams do for the 192 NFL teams each football season.

“When we realized we were going to win the Super Bowl, there was a brief moment where I was a little teary-eyed,” said Dr. Monaco in a News Tribune article back in 2020.

“When you work in virtually any form of healthcare and watch any sport today … it becomes obvious precisely how much influence, care, service, treatment, caution, observation, hard work, talent, research, dedication, tears, and smiles are part of the game or any athletes life,” said Editor of the concierge medicine industry trade publication, Concierge Medicine Today. “Concierge Medicine Today is proud of Dr. Monaco and the work he does with the NFL and his patients at MDVIP. Thank you [and your care team] for your dedication to your team and patients. Congratulations on another win and another dream come true! Keep up the great work. We see you, we believe in you and as always, we are FOR you!”

Additionally, we want to acknowledge the San Francisco 49ers NFLPS for their hard work and commitment to the health and safety of players as well.

To learn more about the history of the NFLPS, visit their website here.

In a message posted on NFLPS.org, the President of the NFL Physicians Society is also San Francisco 49ers Head Team Physician, Dr. Timothy McAdams. In his message he writes “I am proud to serve the 192 team physicians who dedicate their time and expertise to provide top-notch care to NFL athletes and advance the science of sports medicine. … I look forward to enhancing the channels of communication between NFL club physicians, members of the Professional Football Athletic Trainers Society (PFATS), the National Football League (NFL), other sports leagues and medical societies to give our patients, the NFL players, the best care possible. We will do this by continuing our strong collaboration, sharing key learnings and best practices.”

Please click here to learn more about the NFL’s commitment to player health and safety.

According to their website, today, the NFLPS is focused on leveraging new technologies and using rule changes to respond to on-field injuries smarter and faster. They include:

An ‘Eye in the Sky’ who is a certified athletic trainer positioned in a box who scans the field and television replays to help identify players with a potential injury who may require attention. Starting in 2015, the Eye in the Sky is authorized to call a ‘Medical Time Out’ if needed to provide a player with immediate medical attention.

Team medical staff including the Unaffiliated Neuro-trauma Consultant (UNC) who also has access to sideline video monitors, which allow them to watch video of any play. As a result, medical staff can review the mechanism of an injury to better understand what happened and design the best care for the player.

Electronic tablets — Since 2013, team doctors have been using electronic tablets with specially designed applications for the diagnosis of concussions. The X2 app, which includes a step-by-step checklist of protocols for assessing players suspected of head injury, as well as all players’ concussion diagnosis and care. The doctors have instant access to the electronic medical records.

The two essential goals of the NFLPS are simple: continue improving the care of professional football players and to prevent and treat injuries.

Credit: https://nflps.org/about/history/

Originally posted: Feb 12, 2024