Today’s Top Story
Healthcare costs rose more quickly last year, compared to previous year.
A blog post on The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) website reports that the rate of increase in healthcare spending is again trending upward. According to information from the nonprofit Altarum Institute, health spending grew 5.6 percent between December 2013 and December 2014, compared to an increase of 4.5 percent from December 2012 to December 2013, and 3.3 percent from December 2012 to December 2013. The writer notes that healthcare prices increased by just 1.8 percent from December 2013 to December 2014 and hospital prices grew just 0.9 percent during the same time frame, but drug prices increased 6.4 percent during that period. Read more…
    On a related note, the Chicago Tribune reports that a survey conducted on behalf of Bankrate.com finds that 28 percent of respondents cited medical costs as their biggest financial concern about retirement—the number one concern cited in the survey. Read more…

Other News

CMS extends timeline for release of final rule on Medicare overpayments.
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has proposed extending the timeline for release of a final rule regarding the reporting and return of Medicare overpayments. A proposed rule to address overpayments was issued on Feb. 16, 2012. That proposed rule was set to expire this month, and a new rule, published in the Feb. 17 Federal Register, extends the deadline for the final rule to Feb. 16, 2016. CMS states that the complexity of the rule, and the scope of public comments received, warranted the extension of the timeline. Of particular concern to some healthcare providers is a provision in the proposed rule that would extend the lookback period for Medicare overpayments to 10 years. Under current law, except in cases of fraud, claims cannot be reopened after 4 years. Read more…
Read the complete rule…

Study: Distal femoral skeletal traction linked to reduced pain but similar knee function compared to long-leg splinting.
According to findings published in the February issue of the Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma, distal femoral skeletal traction may not negatively affect knee function at 6 months, and is associated with reduced pain compared to long-leg splinting. The research team conducted a prospective cohort study of 120 adult patients with femoral shaft, acetabular, and unstable pelvic fractures, 35 (29 percent) of whom were immobilized with a long-leg splint, and 85 (71 percent) of whom were immobilized with a distal femoral traction pin. Of 84 patients available at 6-month follow-up, the research team found no significant difference in Lysholm score between splint and traction pin cohorts. However, during application of immobilization, they noted that visual analog scale pain scores were significantly lower in traction patients as compared with splinted patients. Read more…

WSJ article looks at surgical patient safety initiatives.
An article in the WSJ looks at efforts by hospitals to improve safety for surgical patients. According to data cited in the article, 46 percent to 65 percent of adverse events in hospitals are surgery-related. The writer notes that hospital initiatives include data collection and mining to track performance and determine best practices; patient screening and preparation; and surgeon safety education. Read more…

Study: Running on pitched grade may not negatively affect Achilles tendon.
Data from a small study published online in the Journal of Sports Science & Medicine suggest that hill running may not negatively affect the Achilles tendon (AT), compared to running on level ground. The researchers used Doppler ultrasound to image AT cross-sectional area (CSA) for twenty women who ran for 10 minutes on each of three randomly ordered grades: -6 percent, 0, and +6 percent. They found similar decreases in AT CSA from pre- to post-run for all three grades, suggesting that decrease in CSA may be a normal response to running independent of grade. The researchers did note that active peak vertical forces were different across grades, with the largest occurring during downhill running and smallest during uphill running. Read more…
Read the abstract…

FDA approval of orphan drugs sees sharp increase in recent years.
According to a post on the FDA Law Blog (which is not affiliated with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration [FDA]), recent years have seen a sharp increase in the rate of approval of orphan drugs. Orphan drugs are defined by FDA as “drugs and biologics which are defined as those intended for the safe and effective treatment, diagnosis or prevention of rare diseases/disorders that affect fewer than 200,000 people in the U.S., or that affect more than 200,000 persons but are not expected to recover the costs of developing and marketing a treatment drug.” The writer drew data from the FDA orphan drug database and found that, since 1983, FDA has approved 511 orphan drugs, with 148 of those in the period from 2010 to 2014. Similarly, the agency granted 3,280 orphan drug designations, with 1,141 of those from 2010 to 2014. Read more…
View the FDA orphan drug database…

FDA reopens comment period on drug labeling change.
FDA is reopening until April 27 the comment period for a proposed rule to change the labeling rules for approved drugs and biologic products. In addition, the agency plans to hold a public hearing on the proposed rule on March 27. Under the proposed rule, generic drug manufacturers would be allowed to update their product labels to reflect certain types of newly acquired safety-related information, even if the revised label differs from the label on the corresponding brand-name drug. The agency states that the revised regulations would allow generic drug manufacturers to improve their communication of newly acquired drug safety information without FDA approval prior to distribution. Read more…
Read the complete rule…

Call for volunteers: OKU Evaluation Committee.
July 31 is the last day to apply for a position on the newly formed Orthopaedic Knowledge Update (OKU) Evaluation Committee. Members of the this committee develop and review the OKU self-assessment examination—a 200 question examination produced triennially. The following openings are available:

  • Chair
  • Foot & Ankle Item Writer (two member openings)
  • Hand & Wrist Item Writer (two members)
  • Hip & Knee Reconstruction Item Writer (two members)
  • Trauma Item Writer (two members)
  • Orthopaedic Diseases Item Writer (two members)
  • Musculoskeletal Tumors & Basic Science Item Writer (one member)
  • Pediatric Orthopaedics Item Writer (two members)
  • Orthopaedic Rehabilitation Item Writer (one member)
  • Shoulder & Elbow Item Writer (two members)
  • Spine Item Writer (two members)
  • Sports Medicine Item Writer (two members)

Applicants for the chair position must be active fellows, candidate members, or emeritus fellows who have served at least one term on the Central Evaluation Committee or one of the Evaluation Committees. Applicants for member positions must be active fellows, candidate members, or emeritus fellows with broad orthopaedic practice experience in the relevant topic. Learn more and submit your application…(member login required)