September 24, 2021 | Today’s News

AAOS Comments on Proposed Medicare Payment Policy Changes for 2022

AAOS recently issued formal comments to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on the agency’s proposed payment policy changes for Calendar Year (CY) 2022, including changes to the Outpatient Prospective Payment System/Ambulatory Surgical Center (OPPS/ASC) payment systems and the Physician Fee Schedule (PFS). The Associations’ comments addressed significant proposed changes that would impact musculoskeletal care, including abruptly reversing elimination of the Inpatient Only List (pulling back the 298 procedures, including 266 musculoskeletal procedures, that were removed from the list on Jan. 1), reducing the conversion factor by a proposed 3.75 percent, and failing to incorporate office/outpatient evaluation and management code updates into the global surgical codes.

Read the press release…

Read AAOS’ full comments on CY 2022 OPPS/ASC…

Read AAOS’ full comments on CY 2022 PFS…

Study: Frailty Transitions in the First Year after TJA

A retrospective study published online in The Journal of Arthroplasty identified frailty transition rates in the year following total joint arthroplasty (TJA). In total, 5,341 patients were identified from an institutional registry. Preoperatively, the group comprised 37.6 percent non-frail patients, 39.4 percent vulnerable, and 230 percent frail, measured via the frailty deficit index. After one year, 29.0 percent of vulnerable patients improved to non-frail and 11.0 percent regressed to frail. Forty percent of frail patients improved to vulnerable/non-frail status. Frailty at one year was associated with significantly increased rates of mortality, periprosthetic joint infection, and reoperation.

Read the abstract…

A retrospective study published online in the Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery found that active-duty military service members who underwent Latarjet procedures for anterior shoulder instability with glenoid bone loss have high rates of return to duty. Fifty patients (average age, 23.1 years) were assessed, including four who were lost to follow-up (8.0 percent). Average bone loss was 18.4 percent. Eighty-nine percent returned to full-duty status after an average of 5.3 months. Four recurrent dislocations occurred, all during combat deployment. Four patients reported subluxation without dislocation

Read the abstract…

A new report from the American Medical Association (AMA) found a 44.4 percent decrease in opioid prescribing in the U.S. since 2011. Conversely, drug-related overdoses and deaths are on the rise. The report is a collaborative effort between two AMA task forces that were designated to address opioid use and pain management, respectively. Opioid prescriptions fell from 257.9 million in 2011 to 143.4 million in 2020. Physicians and other healthcare professionals utilized state prescription drug monitoring programs more than 910.0 million times in 2020.

Read the press release…

Read the report…

A study published online in Age and Aging identified depressive symptom subtypes after hip fracture in older patients. In total, 304 patients aged ≥65 years were assessed. Depressive symptoms and gait speed were evaluated at two, six, and 12 months post-fracture. Four depressive symptom patterns were identified: asymptomatic (50.8 percent), somatic (difficulty concentrating, reduced energy; 28.6 percent), melancholic (persistent hopelessness/sadness; 11.4 percent), and anhedonic (inability to experience pleasure; 9.2 percent). Patients with somatic symptoms displayed consistently lower gait speed compared to asymptomatic patients, but these associations were not statistically significant.

Read the abstract…

JAAOS Expands Its Social Media Approach to Twitter

The Journal of the AAOS (JAAOS) ® is excited to announce the latest addition to its expanded social media approach. Launched in August, the new Twitter account, @OfficialJAAOS, will be dedicated to posting from the journal’s content portfolio. Members are encouraged to follow the new account for access to the latest JAAOS ® content, including articles, infographics, podcast episodes, new posts from the resident-facing Sounds from the Training Room blog, and more.

Read more…

Take Part on a Key Informants Panel

AAOS is seeking volunteers to participate on a Key Informants Panel for the Management of Clavicle Fractures Clinical Practice Guideline. While not a voting member of the workgroup, a key informant would still be charged with reviewing introductory material, submitting guideline recommendation topics via survey, reviewing the PICO (Patient/Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome) list after it has been developed by the work group, and acting as a peer reviewer once this guideline has been developed.

Learn more and submit your application…