Today’s Top Story
AMA asks DOJ to reject health insurance mergers.
The Hill reports that, in a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the American Medical Association (AMA) has petitioned the agency to block two proposed mergers between health insurance companies, arguing the moves would reduce competition and negatively affect patient care. AMA states that reduced competition would lead to higher premiums, less choice of healthcare providers, and decreased physician reimbursement, which could force physicians to spend less time with patients and limit their ability to invest in new technologies. A spokesperson from America’s Health Insurance Plans calls the AMA data set “flawed” and says the AMA document should have no effect on the DOJ decision. Read more…
Read more from the AMA…
Other News
Study: rhBMP may not significantly increase risk of cancer.
Findings published in the November issue of the journal Spine suggest that off-label use of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein (rhBMP) may increase spinal fusion rate without a significantly increased risk of cancer. The research team conducted a retrospective cohort study of 527 patients who underwent lumbar fusion with rhBMP. At 12-month follow-up, they found that overall success of interbody fusion with rhBMP was 93.5 percent. At mean 4.4-year follow-up, 27 patients were diagnosed with an invasive cancer since treatment. Compared to community age- and sex-specific rates, the research team determined that the study cohort was not at a significantly increased risk of cancer. Read more…
Read the abstract…
Study: Very low pressure may be acceptable, low-cost alternative for initial irrigation of open fracture.
According to data published in the Oct. 8 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine, very low pressure may serve as an acceptable, low-cost alternative for initial irrigation of open fractures. The authors conducted a prospective study of 2,447 patients with open fracture who were randomized to undergo irrigation with one of three irrigation pressures: high pressure (>20 psi), low pressure (5 to 10 psi), or very low pressure (1 to 2 psi), and irrigation with either castile soap or normal saline. They found that reoperation for promotion of wound or bone healing or treatment of a wound infection occurred within 12 months for 13.2 percent of patients in the high-pressure group (109 of 826), 12.7 percent in the low-pressure group (103 of 809), and 13.7 percent in the very-low-pressure group (111 of 812). In addition, reoperation occurred in 14.8 percent of patients in the soap group (182 of 1,229) and 11.6 percent of patients in the saline group (141 of 1,218). Read the abstract…
Study: Wrist fracture may be linked with increased risk of subsequent hip, vertebral, upper extremity, and lower extremity fracture.
Data published in the November issue of the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research suggest that wrist fracture may be associated with increased risk of subsequent hip, vertebral, upper extremity, and lower extremity fracture. The researchers reviewed data from across 40 clinical centers in the United States on postmenopausal women aged 50 to 79 years at baseline. At mean 11.8-year follow-up, they found that among women who experienced wrist fracture, 15.5 percent subsequently experienced non-wrist fracture. After adjustment for bone mineral density, physical activity, and other risk factors, the researchers found that the hazard for non-wrist fracture was greater among women who had experienced previous wrist fracture, compared to those who had not experienced wrist fracture in the following categories: non-wrist fracture overall, spine, humerus, non-wrist upper extremity, non-hip lower extremity, and hip fracture. In addition, the researchers noted that risk of non-wrist fracture was higher in women who were younger when they experienced wrist fracture. Read more…
Read the abstract…
Study: Ozone injections may reduce pain and improve function for patients with knee OA.
According to information presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology, injecting ozone gas into the knee may reduce pain and improve function for people with knee osteoarthritis (OA). The researchers conducted a trial of 98 patients, 63 of whom received 10 mL injections of ozone throughout the study and 35 of whom received 10 mL injections of air as a placebo. At 8-week follow-up, they found no significant difference between cohorts in timed up-and-go tests. However, on the Short Form-36, they found that participants in the ozone group had reported improvement in all areas that pertain to quality of life. The researchers note that more studies are needed to confirm their results and to show that ozone may be an alternative treatment option for patients with symptomatic OA. Read more…
ONC asks providers to offer input on improving EHRs.
The U.S. Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) is conducting a survey to improve electronic health records (EHRs) and help the agency better understand the current use of transitions of care documents (including discharge summaries and consult notes). The 5- to 10-minute survey will help ONC to create a new standard, with the goal of reducing the number of pages in the summary of care and making it easier for providers to find relevant information. The survey will close Nov. 30. Take the survey…
Call for volunteers: Program Committees.
Dec. 18 is the last day to submit your application for a position on a Program Committee. Members of Program Committees grade symposia in May and abstracts in June and July, and may serve as moderators for paper sessions at the AAOS Annual Meeting. The following openings are available:
- Adult Reconstruction Hip (16 members)
- Adult Reconstruction Knee (9 members)
- Practice Management/Rehabilitation (chair, 7 members)
- Shoulder & Elbow (7 members)
- Spine (1 member)
- Sports Medicine/Arthroscopy (2 members)
- Trauma (7 members)
Applicants for these positions must be active fellows or international affiliate members with a practice emphasis in the relevant topic. Learn more and submit your application…(member login required)
