Today’s Top Story
CMS: Medicare ACOs saved $466 million during 2015, with improved quality of care.
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced 2015 performance year results for the Medicare Shared Savings Program and the Pioneer Accountable Care Organization (ACO) Model. The agency reports that, in 2015, Medicare ACOs produced a combined total program savings of $466 million. ACOs that reported in both 2014 and 2015 improved on 84 percent of the quality measures that were reported in both years. In addition, all 12 participants in the Pioneer ACO Model improved their quality scores from 2012 to 2015 by more than 21 percentage points, and overall quality scores for 9 Pioneer participants were more than 90 percent during 2015.
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Read the CMS announcement…

Other News

Surgeon General seeks assistance from U.S. physicians to fight opioid abuse.
A letter sent to physicians from U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy, MD, MBA, requests the assistance of the healthcare community in fighting the opioid epidemic. “Nearly two decades ago, we were encouraged to be more aggressive about treating pain, often without enough training and support to do so safely,” the letter reads. “This coincided with heavy marketing of opioids to doctors. Many of us were even taught—incorrectly—that opioids are not addictive when prescribed for legitimate pain.” Dr. Murthy notes that nearly 2 million people in the United States now have a prescription opioid use disorder, which has contributed to increased heroin use and the spread of various communicable diseases.
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Read the letter…
     A new website launched by the U.S. Office of the Surgeon General offers tools to healthcare providers to help address the opioid epidemic.
Visit the site…

Study: Bioabsorbable screws may offer short-term outcomes comparable to steel for treatment of unstable Lisfranc injury.
A study published online in the Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma finds that bioabsorbable screws may offer short-term outcomes comparable to steel screws for treatment of unstable Lisfranc injuries. The researchers conducted a prospective, randomized trial of 40 patients with acute Lisfranc injuries, who were treated with bioabsorbable (n = 20) or steel (n = 20) screws. At latest follow-up, they found that mean Foot and Ankle Ability Measures (FAAM) score increased from 32.5 to 91.2 in the bioabsorbable cohort and from 24.9 to 89.6 in the steel cohort. In addition, visual analog scale (VAS) pain score decreased from 4.7 to 1.3 in the bioabsorbable cohort and from 6.5 to 1.9 in the steel cohort. Final radiographs displayed no Lisfranc instability in any study patients. However, two patients in the bioabsorbable group and four patients in the steel group had midfoot arthritis. One patient in the bioabsorbable cohort developed an inflammatory reaction at a non-resorbed screw head at 2 years after surgery.
Read the abstract…

What can physicians expect under MACRA?
Two recent opinion pieces voice concerns regarding the effect of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) on healthcare providers. An article in Kaiser Health News suggests that small and rural practices could be at a disadvantage under the new law. “Experts agree that Congress primarily intended for doctors to join … larger organizations or systems,” the writer notes, “which generally are considered better equipped to manage and coordinate care, improve quality and lower costs. The concern is that the new payment system … will put doctors in solo or small practices at high risk of incurring penalties.”
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     A second article, published in HealthLeaders Media, suggests that, although many physicians may be prepared for MACRA, electronic health records and other technology tools may fall short of requirements that will be required under the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System and MACRA come Jan. 1, 2017.
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Pennsylvania.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that, under a new Pennsylvania law, physicians are required to review the prescription histories of first-time patients before prescribing opioids and many other controlled substances. In addition, patients who are suspected of abusing or diverting such drugs will undergo background checks, as part of a statewide push to address the opioid addiction and overdose epidemic.
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AJRR launches 2016 reporting for PQRS and Meaningful Use platform.
The American Joint Replacement Registry (AJRR) has released a new version of the AJRR Orthopaedic Quality Resource Center. The system allows eligible professionals and institutions to participate in both the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) and Meaningful Use programs. AJRR collaborated with the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons and the American Orthopaedic Association to offer additional PQRS and custom measures.
Learn more and access the resource center…

Call for volunteers: CMS panel on cross-setting post-acute care measures for the quality measure domain.
AAOS seeks to nominate members to the CMS Technical Expert Panel (TEP) on Cross-Setting Quality Measure Domain—Function Status, Cognitive Function, and Changes in Function and Cognitive Function. The following quality measures are under consideration in this domain:

  • Percent of home health agency patients with an admission and discharge functional assessment and a care plan that addresses function
  • Change in self-care score for medical rehabilitation patients
  • Change in mobility score for medical rehabilitation patients

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 biosketch, and a signed nomination form (available from email below) to Kyle Shah by Sept. 1, 2016 at 11:59 p.m. (CT), at shah@aaos.org.
Learn more and submit your application…(member login required)