From the dwindling number of anesthesiologists in the field to the dramatic growth of sports medicine, here are three forces shaping the orthopedic industry.
Declining pay
The CMS physician pay cut took effect Jan. 1, reducing overall Medicare physician payment by 1.25%. The agency published its 2024 Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule Nov. 2, which updated the conversion factor to $32.74.
This conversion factor is a 3.4% decrease over the last year. Meanwhile, the Medicare Economic Index, a medical practice cost inflation measure, shows an increase of 4.6%, the highest in this century.
"This is a recipe for financial instability," AMA president Jesse Ehrenfeld, MD, said in a statement on the pay cuts. "Patients and physicians will wonder why such thin gruel is being served. Physicians routinely have faced cuts in the last two decades. Yet, there is nothing routine about the past few years. Physicians have faced the COVID pandemic and subsequent burnout. They have seen the costs soar for running a medical practice, while Medicare payment updates have offered too little relief."
Anesthesiologist shortages
The Association of American Medical Colleges predicts a shortage of 12,500 anesthesiologists by 2033, just under a decade away. Meanwhile, over 2,872 anesthesiologists left the workforce from 2021 to 2022.
"Anesthesia used to be a seemingly unlimited commodity," Jeff Dottl, principal at Ventura, Calif.-based Physicians Surgery Centers, told Becker's. "They were lucky to be invited to work at your surgery center. The tables have turned, and now if centers have anyone to cover anesthesia, it usually comes at a hefty price."
The shortage of anesthesiologists has resulted in facilities like Portland, Ore.-based Providence Portland Medical Center and Providence St. Vincent Medical Center delaying hundreds of surgeries over the last year.
Growth of sports medicine
Sports medicine is the fastest growing physician specialty, according to data published by the Association of American Medical Colleges. The specialty grew by 42.5% between 2016 and 2021.
Meanwhile, orthopedic surgery within sports medicine was the fifth fastest growing speciality, increasing by 26% within the same time period.