Spine Society Belgium (SSBe)
The Spine Society of Belgium is a professional scientific society for physician-specialists active in the treatment of spinal pathology, founded in 2013.
The Spine Society of Belgium has grown out of scientific societies of :
- orthopaedic spine surgeons (BSS) (groupe du rachis),
- neurosurgeons (BNS)
- physical and rehabilitation physicians (RBSPRM)
and counts these specialists among its members, but is also open to other specialities.
As an umbrella organisation, it is the largest, and consequently most representative scientific organisation.
A parity in statutes and responsibilities between the various sub-disciplines provides the basis for the daily functioning within the SSBe.
Our mission
The SSBe aims to represent all health care professionals involved in spinal care in respect to Belgian official institutions (RIZIV/INAMI, FOD, KCE...) and international organizations (Eurospine) based on the highest possible representativeness.
The SSBe actively aims at promoting quality of care in spinal pathology, through the development of guidelines, pathways and all actions deemed useful and contributing to this promotion.
Finally, SSBe strives for an optimal education in all diagnostic and therapeutic strategies that benefit the care for patients with spinal pathology.
Some history
The SSBe has been intensively involved in the development of a new nomenclature for spine surgery since 2014.
The development of this new nomenclature was based on basic principles in accordance with the international criteria.
During the development of the new nomenclature for spinal surgery the SSBe was also involved in the creation of a broader context to improve the quality of spinal care in Belgium.
Therefore, the use of the new nomenclature was embedded in the creation of 'spine centres', subsequently renamed 'multidisciplinary care team for the treatment of spinal pathology' in the final texts.
Basic principle in the creation of such multidisciplinary care teams to promote quality in spinal care is the establishment of the multidisciplinary spine consultation.
To promote the quality of spinal care in Belgium, at the request of the KCE, the SSBe engaged in the development of clinical guidelines and care pathways regarding low back pain and radicular pain. In 2017, this led to the publication of the following articles :
KCE report 287As (2017)/ KCE report 295A(2017)
The SSBe coordinates the pilot project for a national registry for spinal disorders
This pilot project aims at two specific objectives:
- to demonstrate the feasibility of implementing the registry in a large collaboration across several Brussels, Flemish and Walloon as well as university and non-university hospitals;
- to investigate the most efficient and cost-effective organisational model allowing continuous registration with a sufficiently high response rate.