Monthly Archives: January 2018

Today's Top Story FDA announces recall of one lot of AuroMedics Levofloxacin in 5% Dextrose Injection The U.S. Food and Drug Administration reports that AuroMedics Pharma LLC is voluntarily recalling one lot of Levofloxacin in 5% Dextrose Injection 250mg/50mL in a Single-Use flexible container NDC 55150-243-46, Lot CLF160003, with an expiration date of May 2018. The product is packaged in a carton containing 24 bags and can be identified as a single-use, ready-to-use flexible plastic infusion bag in [...]

  Today's Top Story Study: XLPE linked to reduced wear and revision compared to CPE for THA According to a study published online in the journal Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research ( CORR), crosslinked polyethylene (XLPE) may be associated with reduced wear, osteolysis, and revision rates compared with conventional polyethylene (CPE) for total hip arthroplasty (THA) patients. Members of the research team conducted a randomized, controlled trial of 236 primary THAs (226 patients) at a single institution. Of [...]

  Today's Top Story MedPAC recommends ending MIPS MedPage Today reports that the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) voted 14-2 in favor of ending the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) and replacing it with an alternative reimbursement model. MIPS combines portions of the Physician Quality Reporting System, the Value-based Payment Modifier, and Meaningful Use into a single program based on quality, resource use, and clinical practice improvement. Last month, the agency finalized a recommendation for repeal, which was [...]

  Today's Top Story CMS to offer new voluntary payment bundle The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) has announced the launch of a new voluntary bundled payment model. Under the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement (BCPI) Advanced model, participants will be expected to redesign care delivery to keep Medicare expenditures within a defined budget while maintaining or improving performance on specific quality measures. Participants will bear financial risk, [...]

Today's Top Story Congress to consider $2 billion increase in NIH funding An article in The New York Times reports that the U.S. Congress is considering a $2 billion increase to the budget of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The writer notes that the bipartisan proposal is in direct opposition to funding cuts proposed by President Donald J. Trump. Read more… Other News Report finds that physicians add $2.3 trillion to U.S. economy A report released by [...]

Today's Top Story Study: Fall history may predict fracture risk for certain patients Data from a study published online in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research suggest that an older male patient’s previous fall history may predict incident fracture, independent of Fracture Risk Assessment Tool (FRAX) probability. The researchers reviewed prospectively collected data on 4,365 elderly men in the United States, 1,823 elderly men in Sweden, and 1,669 elderly men in Hong Kong from the Osteoporotic Fractures [...]