Today’s Top Story
House members introduce new healthcare reform bill to transition away from ACA.
Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives have introduced a bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Among other things, the bill proposes to end the individual mandate, reduce the expansion of Medicaid, and retain ACA provisions under which children can stay on their parents’ insurance until 26 years of age and insurers cannot penalize consumers with preexisting conditions. The new bill is designed to take a reconciliation approach that would limit debate in the U.S. Senate and not be subject to filibuster rules An article on Kaiser Health News examines some key differences between the ACA and the proposed American Health Care Act. Read more…
The American Medical Association (AMA) has released a statement saying that it does not support the bill, as “it does not align with the health reform objectives that the AMA set forth in January to protect patients,” and noting that the “replacement bill, as written, would reverse the coverage gains achieved under the ACA, causing many Americans to lose the health care coverage they have come to depend upon.” Read more…
An article in The New York Times notes that the bill has received pushback from conservative groups, who charge that it does not go far enough, and Democrats, who seek to preserve the ACA. Some conservative senators have announced plans to introduce alternative legislation. Read more…
A statement on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website explains some of the thinking behind the ACA repeal and replacement process. Read more…
The American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) is closely monitoring the new Republican plan to replace the ACA and will have an analysis available soon.
Other News
Study: Achilles tendon rupture may put stress on knee regardless of treatment approach.
Findings from a study published online in The American Journal of Sports Medicine suggest that patients may be susceptible to greater mechanical loading of the knee during sporting tasks following Achilles tendon rupture, regardless of treatment approach. The authors conducted a controlled, laboratory study of 34 patients with Achilles tendon rupture, 17 of whom were treated surgically and 17 of whom were treated nonsurgically. At mean 6.1-year follow-up, they found no differences across cohorts in lower extremity kinematics and kinetics during walking, jogging, and single-legged hopping trials, and no differences in patellofemoral joint stress. However, following Achilles tendon rupture, the authors noted considerable side-to-side deficits in plantarflexor function during walking, jogging, and hopping, and increased knee joint loads during jogging and hopping. Read the abstract…
Study: Educational intervention may help reduce surgeon prescribing of opioids.
According to a study published online in the journal Annals of Surgery, dissemination of operation-specific guidelines for opioid prescribing to surgeons may be linked to a reduction in the number of opioids prescribed. The research team analyzed opioid prescription and use for five common outpatient procedures at a single center and developed guidelines for opioid prescribing to reduce the number of pills prescribed and satisfy 80 percent of patients’ opioid requirements. They found that use of the guideline was linked with a 53 percent reduction in total number of pills prescribed. Overall, only one patient of 246 (0.4 percent) required a refill opioid prescription, while 85 percent of patients used either an NSAID or acetaminophen. Read more…
Read the abstract…
Study: Reduction in antibiotic usage may reduce acquisition rates of drug-resistant organisms.
A study published online in the journal Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology suggests that reducing antibiotic usage may reduce acquisition rates of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs). The research team used agent-based modeling to simulate interactions between patients and healthcare workers. They found that reducing antibiotic usage absolutely by 10 percent and 25 percent was linked to reduced acquisition rates of high-prevalence MDROs by 11.2 percent and 28.3 percent respectively. The research team writes that it observed similar effect sizes for low-prevalence MDROs. They write that even a moderate reduction in antibiotic usage may reduce transmission of MDROs. Read more…
Read the abstract…
CDC Vital Signs report looks at arthritis.
A report released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) projects that about 23 percent of adults in the United States have some form of arthritis. In addition, nearly 60 percent of adults with arthritis are women, and nearly 60 percent of people with arthritis are of working age. The report offers recommendations for care of arthritis, including several aimed at healthcare providers, including:
- Urge patients with arthritis to be physically active and to strive for a healthier weight to ease joint pain.
- Recommend patients attend proven educational programs about managing their condition.
- Ask patients about any depression or anxiety, and offer care, treatment, and links to services.
- Consult the guidelines of the American College of Rheumatology or other professional organizations for treatment options, including medicines.
Call for volunteers: FDA Network of Experts Program.
AAOS seeks to nominate candidates to participate in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Network of Experts program who would be interested in sharing their expertise and experience in using bacitracin for injection. The information obtained will help FDA better understand users’ perspectives and any issues or concerns that may be present in the clinical environment. Applicants for this position must be active fellows, candidate members, candidate member applicants for fellowship osteopathic, candidate member applicants for fellowship, or candidate members osteopathic. In addition, all applicants must provide the following: an online AAOS CAP application, a current curriculum vitae, a completed AAOS “Conflict of Interest” form (available at the email below). All supporting materials must be submitted by Friday, March 10, 2017 at 11:00 p.m. (CT), to Kyle Shah, at: shah@aaos.org.
Learn more and submit your application…(member login required)
Call for volunteers: ADOPT Guidance Development of Adapted Model Infection Control Guides.
AAOS seeks to nominate members to develop the ADOPT Guidance Development of Adapted Model Infection Control Guides. The goal of this initiative is to tailor the existing CDC “Guide to Infection Prevention for Outpatient Settings: Minimum Expectations for Safe Care” to selected specialty areas. The resulting tailored products will provide infection prevention recommendations that reflect existing evidence-based guidelines produced by CDC. Applicants for this position must be active fellows, candidate members, candidate member applicants for fellowship osteopathic, candidate member applicants for fellowship, or candidate members osteopathic. In addition, all applicants must provide the following: an online AAOS CAP application, a current curriculum vitae, and a 100-word biosketch. All supporting materials must be submitted by Friday, March 10, 2017 at 11:59 p.m. (CT), to Kyle Shah, at: shah@aaos.org.
Learn more and submit your application…(member login required)
