Study Takes Close Look at Impact of ACL Surgery

Mary Ann Porucznik; Washington Health Policy Fellows

In the second of a series of studies examining the economic impact of orthopaedic procedures, researchers found that outcomes for patients who had appropriately selected anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction were both more effective (short- to intermediate-term) and less costly than rehabilitation alone.

Transitioning from Fellowship to Practice

Maureen Leahy

“During fellowship, orthopaedic surgeons are highly focused on learning clinical principles, surgical techniques, and the art of medicine. It’s a lot like drinking from a fire hose,” said Kenneth J. Hunt, MD, of Stanford University, Palo Alto, Calif. “As a result, we often take for granted the efficiencies that our mentors have built in to their practices and what’s involved in achieving them.” At the 2013 American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) annual meeting, Dr.

Tips for Dealing with Potentially Litigious Patients

Andrew D. Markiewitz, MD

"Identifying the High-Risk Patient,” in the October 2013 issue of AAOS Now attempted to separate myth from reality about patients assumed to be likely to sue. This article provides tips and techniques for dealing with litigious patients and for minimizing the risk of a lawsuit. Set realistic expectations A high-risk situation, for this review, represents an encounter that places the provider at risk for lawsuits.

Super Groups: Are They the Future of Private Practice?

David J. Collon, MD

Orthopaedic group practices—whether single specialty or multispecialty—have been around for a long time. But in recent years, a new type of group practice—the “super group”—has emerged, not only in orthopaedics, but in many other medical specialties. Super groups may range from 15 to several hundred physicians and may have multiple locations in a market area.

Improving “Performance in Practice” with MOC

Shepard R. Hurwitz, MD

Orthopaedic surgeons understand the importance of continuously measuring, assessing, and improving the quality of care they provide to patients. One way to ensure that this ongoing performance improvement occurs is by satisfying the requirements of the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery’s (ABOS) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Part IV: “Performance in Practice.”

Help in Meeting New HIPAA Requirements

The AAOS Practice Management Committee has posted two new documents to help orthopaedic practices meet the new privacy and security regulations under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) that went into effect on Sept. 23, 2013. These final rules require all healthcare practitioners to change their notices of privacy practices and to implement new business agreements with business associates.

Counting Down to ICD–10

Howard Mevis

The implementation date for shifting to the International Classification of Diseases, 10th edition (ICD–10) is less than a year away! If you have not begun planning for your office to make the switch on Oct. 1, 2014, you need to quickly establish and adhere to an accelerated timeline. Adopting the following schedule will help ensure that your office is ready to implement ICD–10 next year. Dec. 31, 2013—Complete your review of all practice systems that currently use ICD–9 coding.

Do You Know About the AAOS Member Insurance Program?

According to the American Medical Association’s 2013 Report on U.S. Physician’s Financial Preparedness, nearly half of the physicians surveyed were “somewhat” or “very” concerned about the amount of life insurance they own. Nearly 6 out of 10 physicians were “somewhat” or “very” concerned about the amount of disability insurance they own. And nearly 70 percent don’t have long-term care insurance.

Ferocious Fracture Documentation for ICD–10

Margaret M. Maley, BSN, MS

With less than 1 year to go before implementation of the International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision (ICD–10), the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) suggests that practitioners focus on their documentation to identify gaps that need filling before the “go live” date of Oct. 1, 2014. This article drills down on deficiencies that could prove problematic when reporting the diagnoses for traumatic fractures using ICD–10.

What You Need to Know About EHRs and Fraud

Maureen Leahy

Fueled by Medicare incentives and the threat of noncompliance penalties, healthcare practices are increasingly adopting electronic health records (EHRs). By facilitating the exchange of patient data across the healthcare system, EHRs are designed to increase patient safety, minimize errors, and reduce costs. Despite their purported benefits, however, EHRs have come under increased government scrutiny, according to attorney Limo T. Cherian with the law firm of Hogan Marren, Ltd. “The U.S.

“The Dirty Dozen” Healthcare IT Issues

Marion K. Jenkins, PhD, FHIMSS

Information technology (IT) systems—including hardware, software, and related systems—are far from foolproof, and dependency on them is frequently rewarded with an ill-timed outage. Even large organizations such as airlines, the stock exchange, and the federal government experience occasional computer issues. In the course of working in healthcare IT for well over a decade, I have seen my share of IT problems.