Here are eight things for spinal surgeons to know for April 28, 2016.
14% of orthopedists report practice issues negatively impacted net worth in 2015
Fourteen percent of orthopedists reported suffering a negative impact to their net worth due to practice issues, according to the Medscape Physician Debt and Net Worth Report 2016. Nephrology, plastic surgery, urology, ophthalmology, OB-GYN, neurology, gastroenterology, radiology and general surgery also ranked among the top specialties in which physicians reported suffering a negative impact to their net worth due to practice issues.
Stryker's net earnings up 79.5%; Orthopedics sales reach $1.1B
Stryker reported net sales grew 4.9 percent to $2.5 billion from the first quarter of 2015. The company's neurotechnology and spine businesses saw an increase of 12 percent in net sales from the first quarter in 2015, reaching $480 million. Acquisitions, such as its acquisition of Physio-Control and SafeWire, did not significantly impact net sales in the quarter.
International Advocates for Spine Patients names Dr. Gunnar Andersson board chairman
The International Advocates for Spine Patients named Gunnar Andersson, MD, PhD, chairman of the board of directors. The International Advocates for Spine Patients is the sister organization and patient advocacy arm of the International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery.
iFuse improvements sustained 2 years post-op
SI-BONE published two-year results from SIFI, a prospective multicenter clinical trial of SI joint fusion using its iFuse Implant System. The results show marked improvements in SI joint pain, disability and quality of life achieved at six and 12 months were maintained to two years. Mean SI joint pain improved from 79.8 at baseline to 28.1 at 12 months and remained low at 26 at 24 months.
FDA approves Medicrea's patient-specific UNiD cervical rods for spine surgery
Themistocles Protopsaltis, MD, of NYU Langone Medical Center, implanted the first UNiD rod for the cervical spine. The UNiD Rod is custom-designed to match the patient's unique spinal alignment, as well as align with the surgeon's preoperative plan. The company's UNiD Lab services are now available for the entire cervical, thoracic and lumbar spinal regions.
Spine surgery coverage denials cost surgeons $191k
The International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery released results from a study about how a third-party payer's delay or preauthorization coverage denial can impact spine practices. A majority — 84.3 percent — said insurance denials lead to unfilled operating room time. Of the denials, 72.7 percent reported lumbar spine surgery denials; 21.4 percent reported cervical spine surgery denials.
Spinal Elements hits 50 US patents
The company's patent portfolio includes inventions for spinal fusion and motion preservation technologies as well as interbody devices, pedicle screws, stand-alone technologies and implant locking and securing apparatuses. Key products for Spinal Elements include the standalone cervical implant Mosaic as well as the Lucent Magnum, Mercury and controlled delivery guns.
US physician practices spend $15.4B+ yearly on quality reporting
U.S. physician practices spend, on average, more than $15.4 billion dealing with the reporting of quality measures every year, according to a new Health Affairs article. On average, physicians and staff spent a total of 15.1 hours per physician per week dealing with quality measures. Orthopedic practices spent $31,471 per physicians annually.