September / October 2018 Issue of Becker's Spine Review
ON THE COVER
Top 25 hospitals for neurology & neurosurgery: U.S. News & World Report
Here are the top 25 hospitals for neurology and neurosurgery, according to U.S News & World Report, 2018-19 Best Hospitals report. Click here to continue
Amazon enters the spine market, now sells screw removal kit online
Mahe Medical is partnering with Amazon Business Professional Healthcare to introduce a new emergency spine screw sold on Amazon. Click here to continue
Neurosurgeon compensation hits $662K on average: 15 statistics
A new report from Doximity shows neurosurgeons topped the list of highest average compensation for specialists, hitting $662,755. Click here to continue
SPINE SURGEONS
Neurosurgeon compensation hits $662K on average: 15 statistics from Doximity
A new report from Doximity shows neurosurgeons topped the list of highest average compensation for specialists, hitting $662,755. Click here to continue
Florida spine surgeon sentenced to life in prison after woman's drug overdose: 5 key notes
Johnny Benjamin, MD, a former spine surgeon based in Vero Beach, Fla., was sentenced to life in prison for his role in a federal drug case that lead to a woman’s death, according to TC. Click here to continue
The 2 adverse events spine surgeons consider acceptable after ACDF
Most surgeons consider wrong level surgery, esophageal injury, retained drain and spinal cord injury to be unacceptable and uncommon complications of anterior cervical discectomy and fusion, according to Cervical Spine Research Society survey results reported in Clinical Spine Surgery. Click here to continue
Blood, bone, bug found on spine surgery instruments at Denver hospital: 5 things to know
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment finalized its investigation at Denver-based Porter Adventist Hospital after discovering 5,800 spine and orthopedic patients may be at risk to infection due to improper cleaning issues, CBS Denver reports. Click here to continue
Dr. Christopher Shaffrey to leave U of Virginia School of Medicine, head Duke's spine division
Durham, N.C.-based Duke Health named Christopher I. Shaffrey, MD, chief of the Duke Spine Division, effective Sept. 1. Click here to continue
Tennessee health system files for bankruptcy, says it owes CHS $28M
Knoxville, Tenn.-based Curae Health and its three hospitals in Mississippi filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Aug. 24. Click here to continue
Top 10 neurological surgery residency programs from Doximity — UCSF is No. 1
Doximity received more than 315,000 peer nominations, ratings and hand-written reviews to determine its top residency programs for 2018-19. Click here to continue
Top 25 hospitals for neurology and neurosurgery: US News & World Report 2017-18 rankings U.S.
News & World Report released the 2017-18 Best Hospital rankings, including specialty rankings fo neurology and neurosurgery services. Click here to continue
PRACTICE MANAGEMENT
Texas hospital lays off 40% of administrative staff amid financial troubles
Huntsville (Texas) Memorial Hospital is facing financial troubles, but the hospital is taking steps to shore up its finances, according to The Huntsville Item. Click here to continue
8 spine surgeon predictions on the healthcare market: consumerism, reimbursement, big data & more
Here are eight predictions from spine surgeons on the healthcare market. Click here to continue
The best opportunities for spinal biologics and practice improvement today: Q&A with Dr. Jeffrey Wang
Jeffrey Wang, MD, chief of the orthopedic spine service and co-director of the USC Spine Center in Los Angeles, discusses biologics in spine surgery and the best opportunities for practice growth in the future. Click here to continue
Colorado hospital ends relationship with Vail Summit Orthopaedics: 5 highlights
Frisco, Colo.-based St. Anthony Summit Medical Center declined to renew its contract with Vail (Colo.) Summit Orthopaedics, according to the Summit Daily. Click here to continue
Stark Law under the spotlight as CMS seeks to ease self-referral regulatory burden, MedPAC cracks down on PODs
Changes could be coming to Stark Law. Click here to continue
Crystal Clinic faces backlash from residents over $100M clinic proposal: 4 takeaways
Residents in Akron, Ohio, are taking legal action after city officials approved a Cleveland-based Crystal Clinic project to build a $100 million clinic, according to the Akron Beacon Journal. Click here to continue
2 orthopedic practices under HHS investigations for recent security breaches
HHS is currently investigating cybersecurity breaches at two orthopedic clinics in the past two months. Click here to continue
Northern Arizona Orthopaedics partners with HOPCo, connects with The CORE Institute: 4 key notes
Phoenix-based Healthcare Outcomes Performance Company signed a partnership agreement with Northern Arizona Orthopaedics, based in Flagstaff, Ariz. Click here to continue
4 errors in 4 weeks, including incorrect spine surgery: Rhode Island Hospital to commit $1M to quality improvement efforts
Providence-based Rhode Island Hospital will introduce system improvement measures after reports of four patient errors surfaced in four weeks, according to Providence Journal. Click here to continue
Monterey Spine & Joint performs 600th bundled payment surgery: 5 highlights
Monterey (Calif.) Spine & Joint in partnership with Global 1 performed its 600th bundled payment surgery. Click here to continue
The reimbursement issues keeping spine surgeons up at night
Three spine surgeons discuss the reimbursement challenges facing their practices. Click here to continue
Jury awards $8.2M in patent infringement suit against DePuy Synthes: 5 things to know
A jury found in favor of Acantha in a patent dispute with DePuy Synthes, a Johnson & Johnson company, capping a longtime dispute over unlicensed spinal products. Click here to continue
Neurosurgeon sentenced to 2 years in federal prison for hiding assets during bankruptcy: 5 things to know
Former neurosurgeon John Henry Schneider, MD, was sentenced to two years in federal prison after attempting to hide assets during bankruptcy proceedings, according to the Billings Gazette. Click here to continue
Amazon enters the spine market, now sells screw removal kit online: 5 things to know
Mahe Medical is partnering with Amazon Business Professional Healthcare to introduce a new emergency spine screw sold on Amazon. Click here to continue
Viscogliosi Brothers to purchase Bioventus' BMP development program: 5 insights
Bioventus entered into a definitive agreement to divest its bone morphogenetic protein development program to a new Viscogliosi Brothers company. Click here to continue
J&J opens 3rd institute in China as Trump threatens new tariffs: 5 insights
Johnson & Johnson unveiled its newest Johnson & Johnson Institute in Beijing, China, according to the Global Times. Click here to continue
Orthopedic surgery tops specialties for industry payments at $258M
Orthopedic surgeons received the highest value of payments, according to the CMS Open Payment Data in 2017. Click here to continue
Zimmer Biomet to terminate exclusive distribution agreement with BoneSupport: 5 things to know
Zimmer Biomet, the former U.S. exclusive distributor for BoneSupport, cancelled a majority of its Cerament Bone Void Filler orders for a three month period starting in June. Click here to continue
Zimmer Biomet names 2 industry veterans to board of directors — 4 things to know
Zimmer Biomet appointed Maria Teresa Hilado and Syed Jafry to its board of directors. Click here to continue
K2M generates $73.6M in Q2 revenue: 5 financial report details
K2M released its 2018 second quarter financial results. Click here to continue
Spine surgery percentage in ASCs jumped 10% over the past year — Here's expected growth for the next 12 months
The percentage of spine surgeries performed in outpatient and ASC settings has jumped over the past year, and Leerink expects to see continued growth over the next 12 months. Click here to continue
Nonprofit hospital executive pay increased 93% in a decade — Orthopedic surgeon pay did not
A new study published in Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research examines the growing wage gap between healthcare executives and physicians at major nonprofit hospitals in the U.S. Click here to continue
Medtronic forms strategic partnership with Twin Cities Orthopedics spinoff: 3 takeaways
Revo Health and Medtronic forged a strategic partnership to boost their commitment to delivering diverse patient-payment models and improved outcomes. Click here to continue
Titan Spine welcomes Synaptive Medical CEO to board: 5 highlights
Titan Spine appointed Peter Wehrly to its board of directors, effective July 9. Click here to continue
Stryker names Timothy Scannell as president and COO: 3 things to know
Stryker named Timothy Scannell its president and COO, starting Aug. 1 Click here to continue
Life Spine launches new pedicle spine system: 5 things to know
Life Spine unveiled its latest spine system, the Centric-T Pedicle-Based Retractor System. Click here to continue
5 key trends in cost and scalability of 3D printed orthopedic technology
Additive technology is becoming more common in the medical device space, including for spine and large joint implants. The 3D printing technique allows companies to create patient-specific devices that could lead to better outcomes. Click here to continue
NuVasive to launch new spine device: 5 takeaways
After receiving FDA approval earlier this year, NuVasive plans to unveil its XLIF Lordotic Expandable (XLX) Interbody System at the International Meeting on Advanced Spine Techniques, July 11 to 14 in Los Angeles. Click here to continue
Stryker reports $3.3B in Q2 sales, neurotechnology & spine segment experiences 19.4% uptick: 6 things to know
Stryker released its second quarter 2018 operating results. Click here to continue
HEALTHCARE NEWS
MD Anderson slapped with $4.3M penalty for HIPAA violations
An HHS administrative law judge upheld an HHS Office for Civil Rights finding requiring the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston to pay $4,348,000 in civil penalties for HIPAA violations related to the organization's encryption policies, HHS confirmed June 18. Click here to continue
New technology, ancient origins: How Epic, Cerner & more got their names
Most EHR vendors have barely hit their 50th anniversary, but their namesakes trace back to origins as early as ancient Rome and early Greek mythology. Click here to continue
CMS releases proposed physician payment rule for 2019: 6 things to know
CMS issued its annual update to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule July 12, which includes a proposal to pay physicians for their time when they check in with Medicare beneficiaries via telephone or other telecommunications devices to decide if an office visit or other service is needed. Click here to continue
Healthcare CEO gets prison time for role in $19.4M kickback scheme
The former CEO of American Senior Communities, an Indianapolis-based skilled nursing and rehabilitation provider, was sentenced June 29 to nine and a half years in prison for his role in a fraud, kickback and money laundering conspiracy, according to the Department of Justice. Click here to continue
Patient too large for MRI machine sues Oregon hospital for $7M
Portland, Ore.-based Providence St. Vincent Medical Center has been hit with a $7 million lawsuit by a patient who alleges he was initially sent home from the hospital because he was too large to fit inside the facility's MRI machine, according to the Portland Business Journal. Click here to continue
Medtronic Q1 2019 revenue flat at $7.3B, CEO Omar Ishrak 'bullish' on competitive opportunities: 5 things to know
Medtronic reported a slight decrease in overall fiscal year 2019 first quarter revenue with a small increase in spine revenue, but CEO Omar Ishrak remains optimistic about the future. Click here to continue
CMS reviewing same-day spine cases for beneficiaries — 4 insights
CMS is analyzing several procedures currently on the ASC payable list to determine whether to keep them there, the Washington Post reports. Click here to continue
Orthofix Q2 sales spike 2.4% to $111.5M: 5 observations
Orthofix released its 2018 second quarter financial results. Click here to continue
Will hospitals become obsolete? Dr. Richard Wohns explains the future of spine surgery
Spine surgeons cannot remain stagnant. There is constant pressure to stay ahead of the curve, and to be innovative with surgical approaches and devices. Click here to continue