AAOS Adopts Position Statement on Imaging AUC

At its meeting on Sept. 21, 2013, the Board of Directors of the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) adopted a new statement of principles on appropriate use criteria (AUC) for orthopaedic imaging services. The AAOS supports the use of AUC and is in the process of incorporating imaging in both clinical practice guidelines and AUC.

Physicians Face Medicare Participation Decisions

Matthew Twetten

Last-minute deals are common in Washington, D.C.; the most recent involved reopening the government after a 16-day partial shutdown and raising the debt ceiling until after the holidays. With those two issues out of the way, Congress can get back to addressing the myriad other issues it faces, including what to do about the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) factor. Unless Congress acts before the end of the year, physicians face a 24.

FDA Issues Final Rule on UDI

Elizabeth Fassbender

On Sept. 20, 2013, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released the much-anticipated final rule on a Unique Device Identifier (UDI) system. The FDA has worked for 10 years to develop the system and database to track medical devices, and the final rule was well-received by patient groups, providers, and industry as an important step to enhance patient safety.

Second Look—Advocacy

Self-employed physicians According to a report released by the American Medical Association (AMA), about 60 percent of physicians still work in physician-owned practices, and 53.2 percent of physicians were self-employed during 2012. The report notes a trend toward more hospital employment during the last 5 years, with 29 percent of physicians either working directly for a hospital or for a practice at least partially owned by a hospital compared to 16.3 percent of physicians in 2007/2008.

Report from the Council on Advocacy

Elizabeth Fassbender

On Oct. 8, 2013, the Council on Advocacy met in Washington, D.C. to discuss upcoming legislative and regulatory advocacy priorities. Council Chair Thomas C. Barber, MD, welcomed the members, and encouraged them to share key happenings around the country that affect orthopaedics, including issues such as state healthcare exchange models, changes to Medicaid and Medicare, tort reform, and implementation of the International Classification of Diseases–10th Edition (ICD–10). Michael S.

Impact of Health Insurance Exchanges on Orthopaedics

Lalit Puri, MD; Daniel M. Adair, MD

On Oct. 1, a key component of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) fell into place with the opening of public health insurance exchanges (HIX). The impact of these exchanges will be significant; according to Accenture Consulting, as many as 20 percent of employed Americans will be using an exchange to obtain health insurance by 2017. The introduction of public exchanges corresponds to what may become an even more significant event—the creation of private exchanges.