The American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons annual meeting covered insights on outpatient procedures, pain management and policy, according to a Nov. 11 LinkedIn post.
Here are five takeaways:
1. Outpatient settings were a primary focus. Michael Meneghini, MD, from Indiana University Health led a symposium stressing the importance of a multidisciplinary approach and engaging patients in their care.
2. Business and legal aspects of ASC models were discussed to prepare physicians for the financial effects of CMS' ruling to remove hip replacements from the inpatient only list and add total knee replacements to the ASC covered procedure list.
3. William Hamilton, MD, of Arlington, Va.-based Anderson Clinic led a symposium on anesthesia and pain management in procedures. Mark Hamilton, MD, of Northside Hospital in Atlanta said, "If your pain is well managed, you are able to go home the same day."
4. Presenters talked about the importance of decreasing narcotic use while still controlling pain. One study showed how preoperative narcotics use was a predictor in failed same-day discharge. Another study showed how self-guided meditation helped reduce sleep disturbances in some patients who had a total knee replacement.
5. Health policy talks looked at three ideas to control patient costs: decreasing surprise costs, optimizing patients preoperatively to reduce complications after surgery, and reducing additional charges out of surgery.
Read the full post here.