Today’s Top Story
June 30 registration deadline for MIPS participants who plan to use CMS web interface.
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a reminder that groups participating in the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) track of the Quality Payment Program and who plan to use the CMS web interface and/or Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers & Systems (CAHPS) for MIPS Survey must register by June 30, 2017. NOTE: the agency states that groups are not required to register unless they wish to use the web interface or the survey. For 2017, only groups of 25 or more eligible clinicians that have registered can report via the CMS Web Interface. In addition, groups that participate in MIPS through qualified registry, qualified clinical data registry, or electronic health record data submission mechanisms do not need to register. Learn more and register…

Other News

Study: Single-stage acetabular revision may be effective technique for certain patients undergoing two-stage THA revision for infection.
According to a study published online in the journal Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, single-stage acetabular revision may be an effective technique for selected patients who undergo two-stage total hip arthroplasty (THA) revision for infection. The researchers conducted a therapeutic study of 35 patients who underwent surgical treatment for an infected THA using a single-stage acetabular revision as part of a two-stage THA exchange if the acetabular defect classification was Paprosky Types 2B, 2C, 3A, 3B, or pelvic discontinuity and a two-stage procedure was preferred for the femur. At minimum 2-year follow-up (mean 42 months), they found that 34 of 35 patients appeared to be free of infection. The researchers state that mean Harris Hip Score was 61 ± 13 points after the first operation and 82 ± 16 points 2 years after the second operation. Read the abstract…

Study: Concomitant biceps tenodesis linked to higher risk of reoperation for patients undergoing isolated RCR.
Findings published online in the journal Arthroscopy suggest that concomitant biceps tenodesis may be associated with increased risk of reoperation for patients who undergo isolated rotator cuff repair (RCR). The authors reviewed data on 33,481 arthroscopic RCR patients from a national insurance database. They subdivided patients into three groups—group 1: RCR without biceps tenodesis (n = 27,178); group 2: RCR with concomitant arthroscopic biceps tenodesis (n = 4,810); group 3: RCR with concomitant open biceps tenodesis (n = 1,493). Overall, 2,509 patients underwent reoperation for RCR or biceps tenodesis within 1 year following RCR. The authors found no significant difference in 30-day or 90-day reoperation rates across cohorts. However, compared with patients who did not have a tenodesis, they found significantly more patients who had a tenodesis required a reoperation by 6-month and 1-year follow-ups. They note that overall, urinary tract infections were more common in patients who did not have a tenodesis, while dislocation, nerve injury, and surgical site infection were more common in tenodesis patients. Read the abstract…

Survey: One-third of medical groups plan to adopt new payment methods in the next 3 years.
According to a survey conducted by medical consulting company Kareo, Inc., 34 percent of medical groups are considering adding a new payment method such as concierge medicine, direct primary care, or another membership model, within the next 3 years. The research team surveyed 766 clinicians, practice managers, and practice owners. Of those, 26 percent were in practices described as private (concierge medicine or direct-pay membership) and 74 percent were in conventional (fee-for-service) practices. The researchers also note that 35 percent of conventional practices listed their biggest challenge as remaining financially viable, while 38 percent of direct primary care private practices stated that recruiting new patients is their single biggest hurdle. Read more…

Texas.
A study published online in the journal Annals of Emergency Medicine compares claims data on freestanding emergency departments (EDs), hospital-based EDs, and urgent care centers in Texas from 2012 through 2015. For the 20 most common diagnoses, the research team noted 75 percent overlap at freestanding EDs versus urgent care centers and 60 percent overlap for hospital-based EDs and urgent care centers. However, they write that prices for patients with the same diagnosis were on average almost 10 times higher at freestanding and hospital-based EDs relative to urgent care centers. The research team also notes that use of freestanding EDs in Texas increased 236 percent between 2012 and 2015. Read more…
Read the abstract…

Call for abstracts: AAOS 2018 Annual Meeting.
Share your knowledge with orthopaedic surgeons from around the world at the AAOS 2018 Annual Meeting, to be held March 6-10, in New Orleans. Nowhere else will your discoveries reach such a wide-ranging orthopaedic audience. Please note the following deadlines:

  • May 1, 2017—Applications due for instructional course lectures and symposia
  • June 1, 2017—Paper presentations, posters, or scientific exhibits
  • July 17, 2017—Orthopaedic Video Theater presentations

Presenters and all coauthors must disclose financial relationships in the AAOS Disclosure Database Program prior to abstract submission. Disclosure reported on April 1, 2017 or later is acceptable. Submit your abstracts…
Update your disclosures…

Call for volunteers: Health Information Technology Advisory Committee.
AAOS seeks to nominate members to the U.S. Government Accountability Office Health Information Technology Advisory Committee. The 21st Century Cures Act established this committee to provide recommendations to the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology on policies, standards, implementation specifications, and certification criteria relating to the implementation of a health information technology infrastructure. 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. All supporting materials must be submitted by April 9, 2017 at 11:59 p.m. CT, to Kyle Shah at: shah@aaos.org
Learn more and submit your application…(member login required)