Study Examines Medicare Hospital Costs for Spinal Fusion

Terry Stanton

A study seeking to identify cost drivers among Medicare beneficiaries (MBs) undergoing one- or two-level lumbar spinal fusion (1-2-LLSF) identified 22 demographic factors, comorbid conditions, and fusion approaches that increased costs during hospital stays by more than 5 percent. The study, presented at the North American Spine Society Annual Meeting by Kevin J. McGuire, MD, MS, of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H., considered all U.S.

AAOS Strives to Reduce Surgical Risk with New Online Toolkit

K. Keely Boyle, MD; Alan M. Reznik, MD, MBA; Michael S. Pinzur, MD

Orthopaedic surgeons are involved in routine aspects of surgical planning, such as selecting implants and instructing operating room (OR) support staff on surgical needs. Payers now place more emphasis on the entire episode of care, not just the isolated surgical procedure. The entire episode of care can directly affect how we are judged as surgeons. Most of a patient’s surgical risks are present before we make the decision to operate.

Military and AAOS Collaboration Yields New CPG on Acute Compartment Syndrome

Terry Stanton

During its December 2018 meeting, the AAOS Board of Directors approved a clinical practice guideline (CPG) on Management of Acute Compartment Syndrome (ACS). The CPG is the first of a series of planned guidelines funded by the Department of Defense (DoD) and created by a collaborative effort of military and civilian surgeon members of the Major Extremity Trauma and Rehabilitation Consortium (METRC) and Academy research staff.

Patient Safety Committee Discusses How Professionalism Can Limit Psychological Harm

The AAOS Patient Safety Committee supports the development, validation, and dissemination of culture and processes that improve orthopaedic surgical safety and inform Academy policy regarding these issues. If you have questions related to the content presented in this roundtable discussion or patient safety in general, please email patientsafety@aaos.org. Many medical errors and harms can be traced to ineffective communication and poor team dynamics, which are issues of professionalism.

Similar to Aviation, Checklists Have a Place in Surgery

Bilal Sleiman, BS; Zain Sayeed, MD, MHA; Muhammad T. Padela, MD, MSc; Walid K. Yassir, MD, MHCM; Mark Zekaj, MD; Hussein F. Darwiche, MD; ; Khaled J. Saleh, MD, MSc, FRCS(C), MHCM, CPE

Orthopaedics involves a wide variety of invasive and complex procedures, and all surgical endeavors require patient safety. Compared to other industries, such as aviation and nuclear power, surgery is associated with a higher baseline risk for all types of complications. The fatality rate from complications is one per 10,000 surgeries. Comparatively, air travel has a fatality rate of one in 11 million, making it 1,100 times safer.

Failed or Recalled Implants: Is There Surgeon Liability?

Daniel R. Schlatterer, DO, MS; Richard Schlueter, JD

In recent years, catastrophic failures have been associated with several orthopaedic implants. Issues with biologics, such as bone morphogenic protein, also have been reported. This article explores several of the potential liability aspects of failed implants.

New Member Benefit: Benchmark Your Procedure Data Against National Registry Data

The American Joint Replacement Registry (AJRR)—the cornerstone of AAOS’ Registry Program—added surgeon dashboards as an enhancement to its RegistryInsights™ platform. The dashboards allow members to compare their individual data against national deidentified information to help drive improved quality and patient outcomes. Dashboards will be available to those who participate in and have submitted registry data to the AJRR as an inclusive benefit for AAOS members at participating sites.