Addressing the Unintended Consequences of Medicare Audits

John R. Tongue, MD

John R. Tongue, MD CMS has the following three goals for reducing improper Medicare payments this year: To reduce overall payment errors by $50 billion To cut the Medicare fee-for-service error rate in half To recover $2 billion in improper payments These are ambitious goals, and to reduce payment errors and recover improper payments, CMS has initiated a number of projects.

AAOS Brings Key Staff Members on Board

Jennie McKee

The Academy recently added two new staff members to its senior management team: Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Bill Bruce, and Director of Publications Hans Koelsch, PhD. Both Mr. Bruce and Dr. Koelsch began their tenure at AAOS in September. AAOS Chief Technology Officer Bill Bruce, MBA Bill Bruce. MBA Bill Bruce, the Academy’s first CTO, is responsible for leading the design, development, delivery, and implementation of the Academy’s wide-ranging technology resources.

Reminder: It’s Time to Update Your Disclosures

It’s time for AAOS members to review and update their disclosure information. The AAOS Mandatory Disclosure Policy requires the disclosure program to be updated at least semiannually (April and October). All AAOS members involved as CME faculty and authors orthopaedic volunteers in organizational governance and clinical practice guidelines development, and editors-in-chief and members of editorial boards are required to complete disclosure in the AAOS Orthopaedic Disclosure Program.

Pat on the Back...

Members of the 2012–2013 Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America board of directors: Peter O. Newton, MD, president; John M. (Jack) Flynn, MD, president-elect and International Pediatric Orthopaedic Symposium (IPOS) cochair; Gregory A. Mencio, MD, vice-president; Kenneth J. Noonan, MD, secretary; Frances A. Farley, MD, treasurer and finance council chair; Steven L. Frick, MD, treasurer-elect; Peter M. Waters, MD; immediate past-president; James W. Roach, MD, past-president; Donald S.

Orthopaedic Trivia Quiz

AAOS Now tests your knowledge of orthopaedic trivia. Take a minute and see how well you know your orthopaedic trivia—but don’t peek at the answers! An expanded explanation of the correct answers can be found in the online version, available at www.aaosnow.org 1. Many fractures are known by those who first described them. Match the following eponyms to the fractured bone.

From Responsibility to Records, Readers React

I read the article “Whose Responsibility Is It to Reduce Healthcare Spending?” (August 2012) with morbid fascination. The usual payers in the healthcare market (government and insurance companies) were discussed, and each was trying to cut costs. But none of the areas mentioned has shown significant cost savings and improved care simultaneously.

Orthopaedic Training in Ghana

Richard C. Fisher, MD; Peter G. Trafton, MD

Two years ago, Orthopaedics Overseas (OO), a division of Health Volunteers Overseas (HVO), launched a program for orthopaedic volunteers in Ghana at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi, Ghana’s second largest city. A joint effort by HVO/OO and the AAOS led to an agreement with the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons for the establishment and development of Ghana’s second orthopaedic specialty training program.

Paving the Way for Diversity

Jennie McKee

Two diversity champions encourage women, minorities to pursue orthopaedics Jennie McKee Encouraging women and minority medical students to pursue orthopaedics has long been important to Michael J. Patzakis, MD, and Robert J. Neviaser, MD. Dr. Patzakis, the long-time chair of the department of orthopaedic surgery at the University of Southern California (USC) Keck School of Medicine in Los Angeles, and Dr.

Now Playing Near You: Orthopaedic Video Theater

An interview with Kevin D. Plancher, MD Orthopaedic surgeons love movies—not necessarily the Star Wars or Casablanca genres, but certainly the Arthroscopic Management of Femoroacetabular Impingement or Stay Out of Trouble in Elbow Surgery varieties. Each year at the AAOS Annual Meeting, orthopaedic surgeons from around the world take a break to watch surgical videos. Recently, AAOS Now talked with Kevin D.

Welcome to the New AAOS Newsroom!

Leon S. Benson, MD; Lauren P. Riley

Public relations (PR) is one of your many member benefits as an Academy member, yet the AAOS PR department also serves two other audiences: the media and the public.

AAOS/AEEF/OREF: Alphabet Soup or Education Sandwich?

Edward Akelman, MD; Ramon L. Jimenez, MD

Edward Akelman, MD, and Ramon L. Jimenez, MD Do you know the difference between the AAOS, the AEEF, and the OREF? This alphabetic trio of orthopaedic entities may sound confusing and overlapping, but each entity has a clear mission and distinct responsibilities. They do, however, work together to develop, fund, and deliver the best in orthopaedic education and research.

In Memoriam

A. N. Diodene, MD July 18, 2012 Plaquemine, La. Frank J. Dracos, MD Jan. 11, 2012 Buck Hill Falls, Pa. Paul H. Gislason, MD Sept. 10, 2012 Kasota, Minn. William R. Hanna, MD Jan. 23, 2011 Lima, Ohio Ivanhoe B. Higgins, MD May 3, 2012 Portland, Ore. John R. Lang, MD February 2012 Walnut Creek, Calif. Premkumar Rangala, MD Aug. 26, 2011 New Brunswick, N.J.

IPOS 2012 Is Around the Corner

Michael G. Vitale, MD

The 9th Annual International Pediatric Orthopaedic Symposium (IPOS) takes place Nov. 28–Dec. 1, 2012, at the Loews Royal Pacific Resort in Orlando, Florida. “IPOS has become a premier educational event in the area of pediatric orthopaedics,” explains Peter O. Newton, MD, president of the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America (POSNA), which cosponsors the event with the AAOS. “It offers a wide array of content spanning the entire field.”