Monthly Archives: May 2018

  Today's Top Story Providers should check CMS QPP website to verify MIPS eligibility The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced that physician practices and groups may now log into the CMS Quality Payment Program (QPP) website to check their 2018 eligibility for Medicare’s Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). Providers can use the site to determine whether they are required to participate during the 2018 MIPS performance year. CMS will not directly advise physicians [...]

  Today's Top Story FDA announces recalls of two lots each of AuroMedics Pharma Ampicillin and Sulbactam, Piperacillin and Tazobactam products The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced voluntary recalls of two lots of AuroMedics Pharma Ampicillin and Sulbactam for Injection USP, 3 g/single-dose vials, as well as two lots of AuroMedics Pharma Piperacillin and Tazobactam for Injection, USP 3.375 g in a single-dose vials. The recall of the Ampicillin and Sulbactam lots was initiated due [...]

  Today's Top Story Study: Medicare reimbursement for most common orthopaedic procedures fell from 2000 to 2016 According to a study published online in the journal Orthopedics, Medicare reimbursement for many orthopaedic procedures has decreased over time. Members of the research team reviewed Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Current Procedural Terminology code values for common orthopaedic and nonorthopaedic procedures between 2000 and 2016. After adjustment for inflation, they found that annual reimbursements decreased over the study period for all [...]

  Today's Top Story Study: ACD may improve outcomes for certain lumbar microdiskectomy patients Findings from a study published online in The Spine Journal suggest that annular closure with a bone-anchored annular closure device (ACD) may reduce the risk of symptomatic recurrence and reoperation for patients who are at high risk of herniation recurrence following lumbar microdiskectomy. The authors conducted a multicenter, randomized, superiority study of 554 participants, 276 of whom underwent lumbar microdiskectomy with additional bone-anchored ACD [...]

  Today's Top Story Study: Naproxen with IA corticosteroids may be most effective treatment option for certain patients treated conservatively for knee OA According to a study published in the May 1 issue of the Journal of the AAOS, naproxen coupled with intra-articular (IA) corticosteroids may be an effective treatment for patients treated conservatively for knee osteoarthritis (OA). The authors conducted a network meta-analysis of 53 randomized, controlled trials that included a minimum of 30 patients in each [...]