Today’s Top Story
Study: LR-PRP may help treat tendinopathy.
Evidence published online in The American Journal of Sports Medicine supports the use of a single injection of leukocyte-rich platelet-rich plasma (LR-PRP) in the treatment of tendinopathy. The authors conducted a meta-analysis of 18 randomized controlled trials covering 1,066 participants who were treated for tendinopathy using autologous blood, PRP, platelet-poor plasma (PPP), or autologous conditioned plasma. At minimum 3-month follow-up, they found that the most significant outcomes in the PRP groups were seen in those treated with highly cellular (LR-PRP) preparations. In addition, when the LR-PRP system types were grouped, the authors noted a strong positive effect when compared with leukocyte-poor PRP. Regarding control groups, the authors found no clear difference between different types of control injections: saline, local anesthetic, corticosteroid, or dry needling.
Read the abstract…
Other News
GAO offers suggestions to improve Medicare FFS appeals process.
A report released by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) offers recommendations to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to improve the appeals process for Medicare fee-for-service (FFS). GAO finds that the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and two other components within HHS use data collected in three appeal data systems to monitor the Medicare appeals process, yet the systems fail to collect other data that the agencies could use to monitor appeals trends. GAO notes variation in how appeals bodies record decisions across the three systems, and that the ability of HHS to monitor emerging trends in appeals is limited and is inconsistent with federal internal control standards that require agencies to run and control agency operations using relevant, reliable, and timely information. GAO recommends several actions to HHS, including improving the completeness and consistency of the data used by HHS to monitor appeals, and implementing a more efficient method of handling appeals associated with repetitious claims.
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Read the report (PDF)…
Senate proposal would allow CMS to reimburse residency programs for time spent working at rural critical access hospitals.
The Billings Gazette reports that a bill under consideration in the U.S. Senate would, if enacted, make it easier for residents to train and work in rural communities. The Restoring Rural Residencies Act of 2016 would allow CMS to reimburse residency programs for the time residents spend at critical access hospitals. Current regulations restrict CMS from covering the costs of training resident physicians at such hospitals, restricting efforts to expand the training of medical professionals in rural communities.
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Read the press release…
Learn more about the bill…
Report: Many states lack adequate oversight to protect patient access in wake of hospital mergers.
A report from the nonprofit The MergerWatch Project suggests that many states do not adequately oversee the effect of hospital consolidation on consumer access to healthcare services. The writers analyzed information on state statutes, regulations, and Certificate of Need (CON) laws, and found that “state hospital oversight programs as they exist today are insufficient to address the current market conditions.” The report notes that several states have no type of CON mechanism to oversee hospital transactions, and even among those with robust CON oversight, many regulations were designed to prevent expensive duplication of services and are unsuitable to address the impact of hospital downsizing and consolidation.
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Read the report (PDF)…
Study: Take individual predictors into account when interpreting SCAT3 concussion tool.
A study published online in The American Journal of Sports Medicine assesses the relevance of various metrics of the Sport Concussion Assessment Tool–3 (SCAT3). The researchers conducted a cohort study of 2,018 high school and collegiate athletes who completed preseason baseline evaluations including the SCAT3. They performed reevaluations of 166 injured athletes and 164 noninjured control participants within 24 hours of injury and at 8, 15, and 45 days following injury. The investigators found that, after injury, the symptom checklist manifested the largest effect size at the 24-hour assessment, with group differences diminished but statistically significant at day 8 and nonsignificant at day 15. Additionally, effect sizes for the Standardized Assessment of Concussion (SAC) and the Balance Error Scoring System (BESS) sections of SCAT3 were small to moderate at 24 hours and achieved nonsignificance at day 8 (SAC) and day 15 (BESS). The researchers note that receiver operating characteristic curve analyses demonstrated a stronger discrimination for symptoms than cognitive and balance measures, with comparable discrimination of each SCAT3 component using postinjury scores alone versus baseline-adjusted scores.
Read the abstract…
New Jersey.
An article in The New York Times profiles an opioid reduction program implemented at an emergency department (ED) in New Jersey. Since Jan. 4, 2016, providers in the ED have prescribed alternative painkillers, with opioids kept on hand as a “last resort” medication. Over the last 5 months, the hospital has reduced opioid use in the ED by 38 percent. Overall, the hospital has treated about 500 acute pain patients with nonopioid protocols, and states that about three-quarters of the efforts have been successful. Patients treated with opioids are given only limited prescriptions, along with training regarding medication risks and information on physical therapists, pain management specialists, psychiatrists, and primary care physicians who have committed to the goals of the program.
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Call for volunteers: Pediatric Evaluation Committee.
Aug. 1 is the last day to submit your application for a position on the Pediatric Evaluation Committee (chair, seven member openings). Members of the Pediatric Evaluation Committee write questions for the Pediatric Orthopaedic Self-Assessment Examination. All applicants must have a practice emphasis in pediatric orthopaedics. Applicants for the chair position must be active fellows; applicants for the member position must be active fellows, emeritus fellows, candidate member applicants for fellowship, or candidate member applicants for fellowship osteopathic.
Learn more and submit your application…(member login required)
