In an effort to see patients safely during the COVID-19 pandemic, Mayo Clinic developed a Strategic Management and Resource Team, also known as a SMaRT team, to help institute safety measures like universal masking, expanded cleaning protocols and use of virtual visits.

On the Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. A. Noelle Larson, an orthopedic surgeon at Mayo Clinic who serves as her department's SMaRT representative, explains how orthopedic surgery is safely seeing patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Larson also discusses her practice, including the vertebral body tether implant, an innovative treatment for some patients with moderate to severe scoliosis.