Patrick Horst, MD

About

  • Occupation and Specialty: Orthopedic Surgery, Hip and Knee Replacement

  • Location (Clinic/hospital): TRIA, University of Minnesota, Health Partners

  • Location (City): Twin Cities

  • Offers Telehealth: No

  • Contact Information: https://www.healthpartners.com/care/find/doctor/124484/

  • Bio: I am an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in primary hip and knee replacement, total knee replacement and complex revision hip and knee replacement. I see patients at TRIA Bloomington within the Health Partners System. I have clinical interests in complex and high risk primary and revision hip and knee replacement. My research interests include improving patient outcomes and recovery after total joint replacement, joint replacement outcomes in patients with risk factors for poor outcomes after joint replacement. I am also an assistant professor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Minnesota Medical School.

Approach to care

  • What does it look like for you to provide care to patients in larger bodies? How is, or isn’t, your approach different from how you care for patients in smaller bodies? If you work with children, how is or isn’t your approach different when working with children?

    My approach for patients with large bodies is similar to patients with smaller bodies. My primary goal is to help all patients understand the nature of their hip and knee conditions and the treatment options available to them. If surgery (joint replacement) proves to be a beneficial option that a patient is interested in considering patients will go through the same pre and perioperative protocols. In some scenarios patients with a larger body may follow slightly modified perioperative and postoperative protocols to help minimize risk of complications and improve the patient's outcome after joint replacement.

  • What is your perspective on how weight is or is not related to health?

    Increased weight does not mean a patient is unhealthy or will have poor health outcomes. I view weight as one of the many factors that contribute to a patients overall health picture.

  • Finish this sentence: “Fat people are…” 

    Deserving of compassionate, unbiased, and individualized medical care.

  • How do you, your clinic, and the healthcare system you work in use BMI (i.e BMI cutoffs for accessing certain services, BMI on charts and printouts, etc)? Is this flexible?

    BMI has been shown to impact outcomes in a small percentage of cases following total joint replacement. To this end, I use BMI to discuss the risks and benefits and outcomes of total joint replacement so that patients can make a well-informed decision around their health care treatment plan. I do not use BMI cutoffs in decision making for surgical or medical treatment.

  • If a patient declines to be weighed, how do you and/or your staff proceed?

    Their wish would be respected.

  • If a patient declines to discuss weight loss, nutrition, and/or exercise, how do you proceed?

    I would be understanding of their desire.

  • What does the physical accessibility of your office space look like? What kinds of accommodations are present for people in larger bodies? Are there things you wish were in place that are currently not? 

    TRIA offers concierge services for patients with difficulty walking to the clinic suites. Elevators and escalators are available, wide chairs without arm rests and large exam tables are available as needed.

  • What do you do to allow fat people to feel comfortable and welcome in your office? 

    I actively listen to patient's concerns and goals for their medical and orthopedic care, regardless of their weight. I try to understand a patients background and their prior interactions in orthopedic care and how being fat may have negatively impacted these experiences. I share my knowledge of degenerative hip and knee conditions and joint replacement in a non-judgmental and unbiased fashion in order to help patients make well informed treatment plans.

  • If you’d like to use this space to talk about any identities (gender, race, size, sexuality, etc.) you hold and how this relates to your care, please do so.