News and Updates
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Expands Registry Program to Include Fracture & Trauma
The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) announced a plan to launch a Fracture & Trauma Registry (FTR) and begin collecting data on five of the more common fractures in the United States. The FTR marks the first AAOS Registry built on a synergistic approach where collaborative modules will be available across the RegistryInsights® platform, offering expanded, crossover benefits to AAOS Registry Program participants.
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Source: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS)
The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) announced a plan to launch a Fracture & Trauma Registry (FTR) and begin collecting data on five of the more common fractures in the United States. The FTR marks the first AAOS Registry built on a synergistic approach where collaborative modules will be available across the RegistryInsights® platform, offering expanded, crossover benefits to AAOS Registry Program participants.
Learn More
Source: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS)
IGFS Leaders Collaborate to Publish a Consensus Statement on Postacute Management of Osteoporotic Hip Fractures
Each year, more than 300,000 Americans sustain a hip fracture. Osteoporotic hip fractures are a major cause of morbidity and mortality among older adults.1-3 In addition, osteoporotic hip fractures continue to be a source of disability, with as many as 60% of patients developing a new need for assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs).4
Fractures that occur as a result of low impact trauma, such as a fall from the standing position, are considered fragility fractures.5 Fragility fractures are the most devastating consequence of osteoporosis and represent a major source of expense for health care systems.6 For the United States, the cost of treating osteoporotic hip fractures is estimated at more than US$5 billion annually. As more than two-thirds of hip fracture patients will not be able to return home immediately after being discharged from the hospital, most of the cost for hip fracture care is incurred in the postacute setting,7-10
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Each year, more than 300,000 Americans sustain a hip fracture. Osteoporotic hip fractures are a major cause of morbidity and mortality among older adults.1-3 In addition, osteoporotic hip fractures continue to be a source of disability, with as many as 60% of patients developing a new need for assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs).4
Fractures that occur as a result of low impact trauma, such as a fall from the standing position, are considered fragility fractures.5 Fragility fractures are the most devastating consequence of osteoporosis and represent a major source of expense for health care systems.6 For the United States, the cost of treating osteoporotic hip fractures is estimated at more than US$5 billion annually. As more than two-thirds of hip fracture patients will not be able to return home immediately after being discharged from the hospital, most of the cost for hip fracture care is incurred in the postacute setting,7-10
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Practices Can Benefit from Remote Patient Monitoring
Patients often visit orthopaedic surgeons because their pain has affected their ability to exercise and be active. We often are the primary instructive voice regarding how patients should increase their activity levels. Unfortunately, real knowledge about our patients’ activity levels is limited to six- to eight-week intervals of snapshot medicine. However, new codes created in 2019 by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) allow remote monitoring of patients’ activity and may have a dramatic impact in this new, post-COVID-19 world.
We are all adjusting to the new social distancing recommendations and economic strains that have accompanied this crisis, which presents an opportunity for orthopaedists to embrace technology and improve healthcare outcomes. Utilizing the remote patient monitoring (RPM) codes 99453, 99454, and 99457 allows orthopaedists to provide more precise care through the use of digital patient-engagement tools and create an ancillary income stream to prop up practices hit with economic strains due to the pandemic. Practices that are able to navigate new business models will more likely be able to resist the consolidating pressures driving the marketplace.
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Patients often visit orthopaedic surgeons because their pain has affected their ability to exercise and be active. We often are the primary instructive voice regarding how patients should increase their activity levels. Unfortunately, real knowledge about our patients’ activity levels is limited to six- to eight-week intervals of snapshot medicine. However, new codes created in 2019 by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) allow remote monitoring of patients’ activity and may have a dramatic impact in this new, post-COVID-19 world.
We are all adjusting to the new social distancing recommendations and economic strains that have accompanied this crisis, which presents an opportunity for orthopaedists to embrace technology and improve healthcare outcomes. Utilizing the remote patient monitoring (RPM) codes 99453, 99454, and 99457 allows orthopaedists to provide more precise care through the use of digital patient-engagement tools and create an ancillary income stream to prop up practices hit with economic strains due to the pandemic. Practices that are able to navigate new business models will more likely be able to resist the consolidating pressures driving the marketplace.
Click here to read more.
Geisinger’s Home Care Program Is Cutting Costs and Improving Outcomes
Like many health systems, Geisinger, based in Danville, Pennsylvania, cares for a large population of older patients with complex needs. Many of these vulnerable patients are homebound and struggle with food insecurity, social isolation, lack of transportation and other difficulties. This limits their access to essential care and contributes to alarming increases in their overall cost of care.
To tackle these challenges, Geisinger launched a delivery model in 2018 called Geisinger at Home. Working closely with patients’ primary care physicians, a team of doctors, nurses, dietitians, case managers, pharmacists, mobile paramedics and other support staff brings care to frail patients where they live. In addition to providing services such as necessary testing, acute care and wound care, the program offers specialty care as needed. Unlike hospital-at-home models, which typically provide care for three to five days, ours is a longitudinal approach that starts with a comprehensive in-home assessment and care plan, with the goal of providing ongoing clinical services.
Click here to read more.
Like many health systems, Geisinger, based in Danville, Pennsylvania, cares for a large population of older patients with complex needs. Many of these vulnerable patients are homebound and struggle with food insecurity, social isolation, lack of transportation and other difficulties. This limits their access to essential care and contributes to alarming increases in their overall cost of care.
To tackle these challenges, Geisinger launched a delivery model in 2018 called Geisinger at Home. Working closely with patients’ primary care physicians, a team of doctors, nurses, dietitians, case managers, pharmacists, mobile paramedics and other support staff brings care to frail patients where they live. In addition to providing services such as necessary testing, acute care and wound care, the program offers specialty care as needed. Unlike hospital-at-home models, which typically provide care for three to five days, ours is a longitudinal approach that starts with a comprehensive in-home assessment and care plan, with the goal of providing ongoing clinical services.
Click here to read more.
Mortality rate from falls in adults over 75 more than doubled from 2000 to 2016
The New York Times (6/4, Hafner) reports a CDC study “found that for people over 75, the rate of mortality from falls more than doubled from 2000 to 2016.” Study author Elizabeth Burns, a health scientist at the CDC, said, “The most likely reason is that people are living longer with conditions that in the past they might have died from.” The findings were published in JAMA.
The AP (6/4, Tanner) reports a separate study examined participants aged 70 and older who had recently fallen, half of whom were enrolled in an exercise program that “involved exercises three times a week at home for a year, with five sessions led by a physical therapist.” In the study, “there were 236 falls...among the exercise group compared with 366 falls among the others.” The findings from this study were also published in JAMA.
The New York Times (6/4, Hafner) reports a CDC study “found that for people over 75, the rate of mortality from falls more than doubled from 2000 to 2016.” Study author Elizabeth Burns, a health scientist at the CDC, said, “The most likely reason is that people are living longer with conditions that in the past they might have died from.” The findings were published in JAMA.
The AP (6/4, Tanner) reports a separate study examined participants aged 70 and older who had recently fallen, half of whom were enrolled in an exercise program that “involved exercises three times a week at home for a year, with five sessions led by a physical therapist.” In the study, “there were 236 falls...among the exercise group compared with 366 falls among the others.” The findings from this study were also published in JAMA.
FDA approves drug for treatment of osteoporosis after menopause
The New York Times (4/9, Kolata) reports that on April 9, the Food and Drug Administration gave its approval Evenity (romosozumab), “an osteoporosis drug that represents the first new treatment approach in nearly two decades – a strategy based on a rare gene mutation in people with bones so dense that they never break.” The drug is intended for postmenopausal women who are at high risk for a bone fracture. Nevertheless, the agency “said it was requiring the boxed warning on the drug’s label saying the drug should not be used by people who had a heart attack or stroke in the past year.”
Reuters (4/9, Mishra, Joseph) reports, “The decision comes months after an FDA panel overwhelmingly voted for the drug’s approval.” The newly approved drug belongs to a “new class” of medications “known as sclerostin inhibitors,” and “is administered with two 105 mg injections every month for a year, followed by chronic therapy with an antiresorptive drug.”
The New York Times (4/9, Kolata) reports that on April 9, the Food and Drug Administration gave its approval Evenity (romosozumab), “an osteoporosis drug that represents the first new treatment approach in nearly two decades – a strategy based on a rare gene mutation in people with bones so dense that they never break.” The drug is intended for postmenopausal women who are at high risk for a bone fracture. Nevertheless, the agency “said it was requiring the boxed warning on the drug’s label saying the drug should not be used by people who had a heart attack or stroke in the past year.”
Reuters (4/9, Mishra, Joseph) reports, “The decision comes months after an FDA panel overwhelmingly voted for the drug’s approval.” The newly approved drug belongs to a “new class” of medications “known as sclerostin inhibitors,” and “is administered with two 105 mg injections every month for a year, followed by chronic therapy with an antiresorptive drug.”
Frailty may be risk factor for serious complications after surgery, study indicates
Reuters (3/28, Rapaport) reports researchers found “patients who are frail before surgery are more likely to have serious complications afterward and increased costs of care, suggesting that frailty should be factored into risk calculations before surgery.” The findings were published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.
Reuters (3/28, Rapaport) reports researchers found “patients who are frail before surgery are more likely to have serious complications afterward and increased costs of care, suggesting that frailty should be factored into risk calculations before surgery.” The findings were published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.
Study: Frailty More Common in Diabetes Patients
Type 2 diabetes patients may be significantly frailer than nondiabetic patients, putting them at an increased risk for fracture, according to a study published in the January issue of Diabetes Care. Researchers analyzed 3,149 patients (70 percent female), of whom 138 (60 percent female) were diabetic. Patients with diabetes had higher bone mineral density and frailty index (FI) scores than controls. FI was significantly associated with incident fragility fracture risk; hazard ratios (HRs) were 1.02 and 1.19 for per-0.01 and per-0.10 FI index increases, respectively. The HR for per-0.1 increase in the FI was 1.33 for diabetes and 1.19 for controls when the FI and interaction term estimates were combined.
Read the abstract Source: AAOS
Type 2 diabetes patients may be significantly frailer than nondiabetic patients, putting them at an increased risk for fracture, according to a study published in the January issue of Diabetes Care. Researchers analyzed 3,149 patients (70 percent female), of whom 138 (60 percent female) were diabetic. Patients with diabetes had higher bone mineral density and frailty index (FI) scores than controls. FI was significantly associated with incident fragility fracture risk; hazard ratios (HRs) were 1.02 and 1.19 for per-0.01 and per-0.10 FI index increases, respectively. The HR for per-0.1 increase in the FI was 1.33 for diabetes and 1.19 for controls when the FI and interaction term estimates were combined.
Read the abstract Source: AAOS
