After the Error

David Ring, MD, PhD; Robert J. MacArthur, MD

In the January 2017 issue of AAOS Now, my coauthor Robert J. MacArthur, MD, shared a first-person account of how a wrong-side knee procedure could occur in the era of Universal Protocol. I—David Ring, MD, PhD—also have a personal story of medical error. In 2008, I published an account of my wrong procedure—a carpal tunnel release in a patient who should have had a trigger finger release—and later spoke about my error at several meetings across the country.

Using Telemedicine for Orthopaedic Follow-Up

Alfred Atanda Jr, MD

My first experience with using telemedicine for orthopaedic follow-up was in August 2014. I had performed an anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction on a 17-year-old male named Tom, who lived about 90 miles from our hospital. A week later, during a casual conversation with his father, I learned that Tom was doing well recovering at home, but was having trouble adjusting his postoperative brace. Tom's dad asked if I could "FaceTime" with Tom and show him how to adjust it.

New Cuts to X-Ray Reimbursements

Jordan Vivian; Cindy Bracy

Beginning in 2018, orthopaedic practices will face a reduction in reimbursement for the use of computed radiography (CR) as an incentive to upgrade to digital radiography (DR). AAOS is opposed to these reductions, which could punish providers for using a digital technology that is often clinically advantageous to their patients.

Medicare Sharpens Focus on the Global Surgical Package

Margaret M. Maley, BSN, MS; the AAOS Coding Coverage and Reimbursement Committee

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has expressed concern that services with 10- and 90-day postoperative periods are not valued accurately, and follow-up visits included in the value of the global services are not consistently being performed.