Today’s Top Story
OIG to increase legal staff to review physician compensation arrangements.
Modern Healthcare reports that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) plans to hire additional legal staff to increase scrutiny of physician payment arrangements. The announcement comes after a recent OIG fraud alert that warned physicians to carefully consider terms and conditions of medical directorships and other compensation arrangements that could violate the anti-kickback statute. OIG recently reached settlements with 12 physicians who were alleged to have accepted improper remuneration under the anti-kickback statute. The arrangements were deemed questionable for several reasons, including that the payments took into account the physicians’ volume or value of referrals and did not reflect fair market value for the services to be performed, and because the physicians did not actually provide the services called for under the agreements. Read more…
Read the OIG fraud alert (PDF)…
Read the OIG compliance guide (PDF)…
Other News
Study: What factors increase risk of revision following allograft ACLR?
A study published online in The American Journal of Sports Medicine (AJSM) attempts to identify factors linked to increased risk of revision after allograft anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR). The authors conducted a retrospective cohort study of 5,968 primary ACLR cases performed with allograft. After adjustment for patient age, sex, and body mass index (BMI), the authors found that use of BioCleanse processing method and irradiation greater than 1.8 Mrad were associated with a higher risk of revision when compared with all other processing methods. In addition, bone–patellar tendon–bone allografts were at increased risk of revision compared with soft tissue allografts, and younger patient age and male sex were linked to increased risk of revision. The use of AlloWash or AlloTrue processing, patient BMI, and graft donor age did not significantly affect revision rate. Read the abstract…
Study: Both hip arthroscopy and open surgical hip dislocation for FAI offer equivalent hip survival rates.
Findings from a study published online in AJSM suggest that both hip arthroscopy and open surgical hip dislocation for treating femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) may offer excellent and equivalent hip survival rates at medium-term follow-up. The research team performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of nine studies on FAI that used open surgical hip dislocation (mean follow-up 57.6 months) and seven studies on FAI that used hip arthroscopy (mean follow-up 50.8 months) covering a combined total of 2,084 hips. They found that both treatments demonstrated good outcomes in their respective scoring systems. However, compared to open treatment, hip arthroscopy was associated with a higher general health-related quality of life score on the 12-Item Short-Form Survey physical component score. Read the abstract…
Study: Repression of PPARγ protein may stimulate osteoblast formation.
Data from a mouse study published online in the journal Nature Communications suggest that a compound that represses the PPARγ protein may stimulate the formation of osteoblasts during treatment with mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), suggesting a possible therapeutic approach to promote bone formation. The researchers had previously demonstrated that activation of PPARγ promotes adipogenesis at the expense of osteoblast formation. In this study, they find that treatment of isolated bone marrow-derived MSCs with SR2595 compound promoted induction of osteogenic differentiation. Read more…
Read the abstract…
Physicians who take a break from practice face challenges upon return.
An article in Kaiser Health News looks at challenges faced by physicians who attempt to return to practice after a significant break. “After extended leaves, doctors must convince medical boards to reissue their licenses, hospitals to grant admitting privileges, and malpractice insurers to provide coverage,” the writer states. “Only a handful of programs around the country are set up to help physicians brush up on their skills, and they can cost doctors thousands of dollars.” However, some policymakers and professional organizations are working to remove barriers to physician reentry into the workforce. Among other things, the Federation of State Medical Boards is advocating for states to create a standard process for physicians to show they have the skills to return to medicine and is asking licensing agencies to track whether physicians are still practicing within their area of training. Read more…
Wisconsin.
An audit of licensed physicians in Wisconsin finds that 8.3 percent of those selected were not in compliance with continuing medical education (CME) requirements. According to the Wisconsin State Journal, the audit, which was conducted by the state Safety and Professional Services Department, looked at 1,135 medical doctors and 81 osteopathic doctors. Of those, 94 and 7 respectively could not prove that they had completed their CME. The report notes that 29 of the 94 non-compliant medical doctors did not respond to the auditors, while another 21 licensees submitted evidence of CME, but for the wrong time period. Read more…
Submit papers now for Kappa Delta and OREF Clinical Research Awards.
July 1, 2015 is the deadline for receipt of manuscripts submitted for the 2016 Kappa Delta Awards and the Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation (OREF) Clinical Research Award. Up to two $20,000 Kappa Delta awards (Elizabeth Winston Lanier Award and Ann Doner Vaughan Award), one $20,000 Kappa Delta Young Investigator award, and one $20,000 OREF award will be bestowed, provided manuscripts of requisite quality are submitted. Manuscripts should represent a large body of cohesive scientific work, generally reflecting years of investigation. If the submission reflects a single project, it should be of high significance and impact. Manuscripts must be submitted by members (or candidate members) of the AAOS, Orthopaedic Research Society, Canadian Orthopaedic Association, or Canadian Orthopaedic Research Society. Submissions for the 2016 Kappa Delta and OREF Clinical Research Awards will be accepted in electronic format only. A PDF of the entire submission must be emailed no later than 11:59 p.m. CT on July 1, 2015. Late submissions will not be considered. Read more…
Submit your manuscript to kappadelta@aaos.org.
Last call: Health Care Payment Learning and Action Network work group.
AAOS seeks to nominate members to the Health Care Payment Learning and Action Network Alternative Payment Model (APM) Definitions and Progress Tracking Work Group. The goal of the work group is to recommend a standard set of APM terms that can be easily understood by all stakeholders and can serve as a foundation for productive dialogue. In addition, the group will recommend an approach for measuring the progress of adopting APMs along the payment continuum, highlighting the shift from traditional fee-for-service to value-based payments. Applicants for this position must be active fellows, candidate members, candidate members osteopathic, candidate member applicants for fellowship, or candidate member applicants for fellowship osteopathic. In addition, all applicants must provide the following: an online AAOS CAP application, a current curriculum vitae; a 100-word biosketch, and a letter of interest highlighting his or her expertise in the subject area and a statement that he or she is able to participate in full capacity. All supporting materials must be submitted by Wednesday, June 17, 2015 at 11:59 p.m. CT, to Kyle Shah at shah@aaos.org.
Learn more and submit your application…(member login required)
