Editor's Note Surgical readmission rates have declined in the past decade, and rates of decline increased during the Hospital Readmission Reduction Program (HRRP) period, this study finds. Between 2005 and 2014, rates of readmission across 8 targeted procedures declined from 12.2% to 8.6%. Before the Affordable Care Act, rates of readmission…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on March 7 announced that an updated THKR Outpatient Performance Measurement Implementation Guide is now available for its Total Hip and Total Knee Replacement (THKR) Certification program. The update includes the 2018 CPT codes. Joint Commission Online Weekly Newsletter Read More >>

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Editor's Note Neurocognitive dysfunction is highly prevalent in total joint candidates and predisposes patients to suboptimal postoperative outcomes including increased ICU admissions and prolonged rehabilitation, this study finds. The researchers found that nearly 54% of 99 patients analyzed had neurocognitive dysfunction, which correlated with age more than 60 years, body…

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Editor's Note In this study, researchers used patient-reported outcome (PRO) scores from 15 hospitals in Washington to create a clinical prediction model for spine surgery patients that explains most of the variability in pain reduction and functional improvement after surgery. The researchers found that after lumbar fusion surgery: 58.0% had…

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Editor's Note A Technavio analysis predicts that the global market for thoracolumbar spine devices will see a compound annual growth rate of almost 4% through 2022, the March 1 Becker’s SpineReview reports. A major driver of the growth is the increasing prevalence of spinal disorders. The market was dominated in…

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Editor's Note A GlobalData analysis predicts the global orthopedics market will reach $66.2 billion by 2023, with a compound annual growth rate of 3.8%, the March 2 Becker’s SpineReview reports. Among the key players in the market, which is dominated by spine devices, hip and knee implants, and trauma fixation…

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Editor's Note In this study led by Martin A. Makary, MD, MPH, professor of surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, minimally invasive surgery (MIS) was associated with better outcomes than open procedures in the Medicare population. Of 233,984 Medicare patients who had one of seven common surgical…

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Editor's Note Using a multimodal approach to pain management was associated with decreased opioid use, opioid prescriptions, and opioid complications in total joint replacement patients in this study. Of 512,393 hip replacement and 1,028,069 knee replacement patients analyzed, multimodal pain management techniques were used in 85.6% during surgery, on the…

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Editor's Note Total hip arthroplasty (THA) is not only associated with improved quality of life but with increased life expectancy, this Swedish study finds. Of 131,808 patients having THA from 1999 to 2012, survival was 1% better in the first year than those who did not have surgery. Survival increased…

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Editor's Note Using financial data from California’s short-term and specialty hospitals from FY 2005 to FY 2014, researchers from the UCLA School of Medicine provide the first standardized estimates of OR costs. The analysis, which focused on two revenue centers--surgery/recovery and ambulatory surgery--found that the mean cost of OR time…

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