31 07, 2017

July 31, 2017 | Today’s News

By |2017-07-31T23:14:19-04:00July 31st, 2017|Top Stories|

Today's Top Story Study: Use of BPTB autograft linked to lower risk of infection compared to hamstring autograft for ACL reconstruction. A study published online in The American Journal of Sports Medicine suggests that patients who undergo anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction using hamstring autograft may be at increased risk of infection compared to those who receive bone–patellar tendon–bone (BPTB) autograft. The researchers conducted a meta-analysis of 21 level 1 and level 2 studies. They found that patients [...]

28 07, 2017

July 28, 2017 | Today’s News

By |2017-07-31T14:23:18-04:00July 28th, 2017|Top Stories|

Today's Top Story Senate falls short of votes needed for "skinny" ACA repeal. In a narrow 51-49 vote, the U.S. Senate failed to pass the Health Care Freedom Act—the so-called "skinny" repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that among other things would have eliminated the ACA’s individual and employer mandates, removed a tax on medical devices for three years, and granted states more flexibility in obtaining ACA waivers. Proponents of the bill had expected to turn it [...]

26 07, 2017

July 26, 2017 | Today’s News

By |2017-07-28T20:31:26-04:00July 26th, 2017|Top Stories|

Today's Top Story Senate votes to proceed with debate on ACA repeal. The U.S. Senate has voted to begin debate on repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Following the 51-50 vote to proceed with debate, a follow-up vote on the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) was defeated 43-57. The BCRA was drafted by a group of Republican senators as an amendment to and substitute for the American Health Care Act, which was passed earlier this year by [...]

26 07, 2017

July 26, 2017 | Today’s News

By |2017-07-31T14:20:24-04:00July 26th, 2017|Top Stories|

Today's Top Story Senate votes to proceed with debate on ACA repeal. The U.S. Senate has voted to begin debate on repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Following the 51-50 vote to proceed with debate, a follow-up vote on the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) was defeated 43-57. The BCRA was drafted by a group of Republican senators as an amendment to and substitute for the American Health Care Act, which was passed earlier this year by [...]

25 07, 2017

House Passes Controlled Substances Legislation, CMS Releases Proposed Rules

By |2017-07-26T18:00:24-04:00July 25th, 2017|Legislation|

House Passes Controlled Substances Legislation, CMS Releases Proposed Rules For questions or concerns on these or other advocacy issues, contact the Office of Government Relations at dc@aaos.org.   House Passes Bipartisan Bill to Better Equip Medical Professionals The House of Representatives on July 12, 2017 passed H.R. 1492, the Medical Controlled Substances Transportation Act of 2017. H.R. 1492 would update the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) registration process for mobile medical practitioners and team physicians to ensure these health [...]

24 07, 2017

July 24, 2017 | Today’s News

By |2017-07-25T15:20:57-04:00July 24th, 2017|Top Stories|

Today's Top Story CMS releases proposed Medicare Physician Fee Schedule for 2018. The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released its proposed 2018 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. Among other things, the proposal includes: An overall update to payments of +0.31 percent. Implementation of the Medicare Appropriate Use Criteria Program for Advanced Diagnostic Imaging in a manner designed to allow practitioners more time to focus on and adjust to the Quality Payment Program. A change from [...]

21 07, 2017

July 21, 2017 | Today’s News

By |2017-07-24T15:26:22-04:00July 21st, 2017|Top Stories|

Today's Top Story Study: How do outcomes compare for surgical and nonsurgical treatment of displaced midshaft clavicle fracture? A study published in the July 19 issue of The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery compares surgical and nonsurgical treatment approaches for displaced midshaft clavicle fracture. The authors conducted a prospective, randomized, controlled trial of 117 patients who received either nonsurgical treatment with a figure-of-eight harness or surgical treatment with anteroinferior plate osteosynthesis. At 6-week, 6-month, and 1-year follow-ups, [...]

19 07, 2017

July 19, 2017 | Today’s News

By |2017-07-24T15:23:37-04:00July 19th, 2017|Top Stories|

Today's Top Story OIG to review accuracy of 6 years of meaningful use payments Healthcare IT News reports that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) plans to review the accuracy of $14.6 billion in Medicare meaningful use payments made to hospitals between 2011 and 2016. From Jan. 1, 2011, to Dec. 31, 2016, U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) electronic health records incentive payments totaled $14.6 billion, and OIG [...]

17 07, 2017

July 17, 2017 | Today’s News

By |2017-07-24T15:20:28-04:00July 17th, 2017|Top Stories|

Today's Top Story Study: Evidence-based clinical decision support tools in EHRs may help reduce ordering of high-cost imaging in EDs. Data from a study published in the July issue of the journal Academic Emergency Medicine suggest that inclusion of evidence-based clinical decision support tools into electronic health records (EHR) systems may help reduce use of high-cost imaging. The researchers conducted a longitudinal, before/after study of 235,858 total patient visits across five emergency departments (EDs) in a healthcare system [...]

14 07, 2017

July 14, 2017 | Today’s News

By |2017-07-15T21:22:05-04:00July 14th, 2017|Top Stories|

Today's Top Story CMS proposes to cover outpatient hip and knee arthroplasty; may cut reimbursement at off-campus hospital facilities. Two rules recently released by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) could impact reimbursement for orthopaedic surgeons. Under the first, the agency proposes to reduce 340B drug payments to hospitals by 22.5 percent, and in order to allow Medicare to pay for outpatient hip and knee arthroplasty procedures. For CY 2018, the agency proposes "to remove [...]

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