Hospital for Special Surgery researchers, led by Bryan T. Kelly, MD, co-director of the Center for Hip Pain and Preservation, identified a group of patients who have increased difficulty for surgical treatment of snapping psoas, according to a hospital news release.

Many risks that cause patients to fall are not adequately addressed with fall prevention initiatives used in healthcare facilities, according to a release from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

Janssen Pharmaceuticals has received FDA approval for XARELTO, an oral anticoagulant used to prevent deep vein thrombosis in patients undergoing hip and knee replacement surgery, according to a company news release.

Prior to 1950, sacroiliac joint dysfunction was thought the predominant cause of back pain. Post-1950, physicians have been more focused on the disc as the cause for back pain, which has led to several advances in that area of spine surgery. However, the decreased awareness of sacro-iliac dysfunction has lead to cases of misdiagnosis of SI joint dysfunction as discogenic back pain or sciatica.

"There are a few different studies recently about sacroiliac joint dysfunction showing that it affects about 25 percent of adults with low back pain," says Richard Kube, MD, a spine surgeon with Prairie Spine & Pain Institute in Peoria, Ill. "Given how common sacroiliac joint dysfunction is, it's important that we make it part of the training and examination process. If we have the wrong diagnosis and do the wrong treatment, the outcome is going to be poor."

Patients living with Type 2 diabetes and heart disease in a medical home saw many process improvements with electronic health records enabling their care coordination, according to an eHealth Initiative report.

The report, conducted by the eHealth Initiative and Health & Technology Vector, tracked 119 patients over six months with Type 2 diabetes and heart disease at two sites: Community Health Center in Middletown, Conn., and a small primary care practice that is a part of the Taconic Independent Practice Association in New York.

The project aimed to look at the differences between the theory and practice of care coordination. Some of the processes and areas where patients saw improvements included more advanced use of EHRs, care planning, provider-patient communication, intra-office coordination and more user-friendly information for patients.

"With use of a care plan enabled by the EHR, we were able to streamline the care process for these patients and more efficiently track their progress," said Victor Villagra, MD, in the release. Dr. Villagra, founder and president of H&T Vector, worked directly with the clinics on the project. "For example, at one site, six separate cardiology referral forms were used before the project began. Following the intervention, a single form was developed and formatted within the EHR."

Read the eHealth Initiative's release on care coordination with EHRs.

Related Articles on EHR Impacts:
Digitizing Healthcare Involves Grasping the Scope, Finding Value of EHR Data
Study: EHR, Pharmacist Involvement Can Reduce Adverse Medication Events
St. John's Regional: EHRs Made Difference in Joplin Tornado Recovery

Editor's note: This article first appeared in the RACMonitor.

Many physicians and other healthcare practitioners need to go "in-network" with managed care organizations because these network agreements drive patients into their office. These practitioners typically enter into managed care participation provider agreements with the health insurers for the privilege of becoming an "in-network" provider. The benefits of being in-network include the following:

Here are five tips for orthopedic practice leaders striving to stay at the top of the market.

Mark Snyder, MD, an orthopedic surgeon in Cincinnati, recently helped a private hospital develop a program to reduce complications in joint replacement and achieve Joint Commission certification as a "Center of Excellence," according to an AAOS Now report.

ConforMIS has recently received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for two of its patient-specific implants, the iDuo G2 for partial knee replacements and the iTotal for total knee replacements. The iTotal achieved clearance earlier this year, and now the company is undergoing expansion to meet the market needs for its product.

Damon Noto, MD, a physician with Spine & Joint Center in Hackensack, N.J., is now using adult stem cells harvested from the patient to help stimulate tissue growth during spinal procedures, according to a practice news release.