Today’s Top Story
CMS seeks comments regarding physician-owned hospitals.
An article in Modern Healthcare notes that, under the recently released U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) FY 2018 Medicare Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System and Long Term Acute Care Hospital Prospective Payment System Proposed Rule, the agency is seeking information from physicians regarding the effects of the Affordable Care Act on physician-owned hospitals. Among other things, the rule requests physician input on the following:

  • The appropriate role of physician-owned hospitals within the delivery system and their impact on Medicare beneficiaries
  • Which regulations physicians believe should be rescinded to reduce burdens for physicians and patients, improve the quality of care, decrease costs, and ensure that patients and their providers and physicians are making the best health care choices possible

The American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons has urged CMS to address issues related to physician-owned hospitals and many other regulations. The Association plans to submit comments on the proposed rule, due June 13, 2017, and will coordinate with other impacted stakeholders and AAOS membership. Read more…(registration may be required)
Read the rule…

Other News

PODs may come under increased scrutiny.
The Hill reports that federal regulators are considering increasing oversight over physician-owned distributors (PODs) of medical products. The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission recently argued in favor of more robust reporting standards for PODs under the Open Payments (Sunshine Act) system Currently, only certain PODs are required to disclose under the Act. Critics of PODs say that they may introduce conflicts of interest by incentivizing physicians to perform more surgeries. Changes to oversight of PODs under the Open Payments system would need to be approved by the U.S. Congress. Read more…

Study: Is there a preferred treatment for OCD?
According to a study published online in The American Journal of Sports Medicine, patients with osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) who are treated with fragment excision may be at greater risk of osteoarthritis (OA) and arthroplasty than those treated with fragment preservation or chondral defect grafting. The researchers conducted a cohort study of 221 OCD patients with mean 16.3-year follow-up. Overall, 134 patients were treated with fragment excision, 78 with fragment preservation, and nine with chondral defect grafting. The researchers found that the cumulative incidence of OA in the fragment excision group was 12.0 percent at 5 years, 17.0 percent at 10 years, 26.0 percent at 15 years, 39.0 percent at 20 years, and 70 percent at 30 years. In comparison, the cumulative incidence of OA in the fragment preservation group was 3.0 percent at 5 years, 7.0 percent at 10 years, 16.0 percent at 15 years, 25.0 percent at 20 years, and 51 percent at 30 years. In addition, patients in the fragment excision cohort were significantly more likely to undergo arthroplasty compared to those in the fragment preservation cohort. No patients in the chondral defect grafting group had developed OA or undergone arthroplasty at most recent follow-up. Read the abstract…

CMS may require private accreditors to go public with findings from facility inspections.
An article produced by NPR and ProPublica states that CMS is considering requiring private healthcare accreditors to publicly identify issues noted during medical facility inspections, as well as steps being taken to address them. A CMS report issued last year found that accrediting organizations often missed serious deficiencies found soon after by state inspectors. The writer notes that government inspection reports generally offer a detailed description of issues noted during inspections, but many private accrediting organizations do not, leading to a “patchwork” situation in which some inspections are public and others are not. The writer states that nearly nine in 10 hospitals are directly overseen by private accreditors. Read more…

Iowa.
The Des Moines Register reports that the Iowa Legislature has passed legislation that, if enacted, would cap limits on non-economic damages at $250,000 in many medical liability suits. The cap would not apply in cases involving permanent impairment, disfigurement, or death. In addition, the bill includes provisions governing physician-patient communications after adverse medical incidents, measures to reduce frivolous litigation, and establishes standards for expert witnesses. The governor is expected to sign the bill. Read more…

Maine.
According to the Portland Press Herald, a bill under consideration in the Maine State Legislature would require medical professionals who prescribe opioids to inform patients that the painkillers are addictive. If enacted, the bill would require patients to sign a form stating that they have been informed of the medication’s addictive properties. Supporters of the bill argue that patients need to be educated regarding potential harmful effects of opioids. Critics respond that the bill is unnecessary and that it is inappropriate for the legislature to determine what advice healthcare providers should give patients. Read more…

Nominate a colleague for the AAOS Diversity, Humanitarian, or Tipton Leadership Award!
Friday, June 9, 2017, is the last day to submit nominations for the 2018 Diversity and Humanitarian Awards and the William W. Tipton Jr, MD, Orthopaedic Leadership Award. These awards are presented annually at the AAOS Annual Meeting. The respective award recipients are recognized for their endeavors to further encourage diversity or culturally competent care, participation in humanitarian activities, or leadership activities in the orthopaedic profession. Read more…