Here are six things for spine surgeons to know for Thursday, April 18, 2013.
Medtronic Spine will cut workforce.
Memphis, Tenn.-based Medtronic Spine announced intentions to restructure its workforce, including possible employee layoffs and other cost-cutting measures. The number and location of layoffs have not yet been determined. However, Medtronic's goal is to reduce overall costs by 5 percent while minimizing the impact to people, said Senior Director of Public Relations and Communications Eric Epperson.
Stryker launches new surgical devices.
Stryker launched three surgical devices in the last few months, including a spine pedicle screw device. The Kalamazoo, Mich.-based medical device developer launched the ES2 Spinal System, Universal SMARTLockHybrid MMF system and ICONIX suture-based system. The ES2 uses Xia 3 pedicle screw technology for minimally invasive one-step bar and screw placement.
OIG releases new provider self-disclosure protocol.
The Office of Inspector General released updated provider self-disclosure protocol, which is entirely revised from the SDP published in 1998. The protocol instructs healthcare providers what to do if they discover actions violate federal fraud and abuse laws. Among the changes since 2008, the OIG narrowed the SDP's scope regarding the physician self-referral law, established a minimum settlement amount and established guidelines for providers' initial submissions in the disclosure process.
Report: bundled payments may reduce cost of care.
When structured well, bundled payment models can be effective and profitable for hospitals that can reduce the cost of each episode of care, according to a study conducted by Singletrak Analytics and DataGen. The authors were optimistic for the proliferation and impact of bundled payments on the cost of healthcare, but expressed some skepticism on the future of accountable care organizations.
Study: cortical screw fixation equally stable as pedicle fixation.
A recent study published in Spine investigated the biomechanical behavior of a cortical screw fixation system in comparison to a traditional pedicle screw system. The study concluded that regardless of the type of support, cortical screw fixation and pedicle screw fixation yielded the same amount of stability.
Healthcare industry is behind on ICD-10 progress.
The healthcare industry is not making the amount of progress that is needed for a smooth transition to ICD-10 in October 2014, according to a letter submitted by the Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange, an HHS advisor, to the Secretary of HHS. About half the vendors indicate they are half or less than halfway complete with product development. Over two-fifths of provider respondents indicated they did not know when they would complete their impact assessment, business changes and begin external testing.
More Articles on Spine:
6 Spine Surgeons on Physician Partnerships for Improved Care
Outlook on Spine Surgeon Relationships With Hospitals: Q&A With Dr. Bryan Oh of BASIC Spine
10 Tips for Spine Surgeons to Consider When Choosing a Practice
Memphis, Tenn.-based Medtronic Spine announced intentions to restructure its workforce, including possible employee layoffs and other cost-cutting measures. The number and location of layoffs have not yet been determined. However, Medtronic's goal is to reduce overall costs by 5 percent while minimizing the impact to people, said Senior Director of Public Relations and Communications Eric Epperson.
Stryker launches new surgical devices.
Stryker launched three surgical devices in the last few months, including a spine pedicle screw device. The Kalamazoo, Mich.-based medical device developer launched the ES2 Spinal System, Universal SMARTLockHybrid MMF system and ICONIX suture-based system. The ES2 uses Xia 3 pedicle screw technology for minimally invasive one-step bar and screw placement.
OIG releases new provider self-disclosure protocol.
The Office of Inspector General released updated provider self-disclosure protocol, which is entirely revised from the SDP published in 1998. The protocol instructs healthcare providers what to do if they discover actions violate federal fraud and abuse laws. Among the changes since 2008, the OIG narrowed the SDP's scope regarding the physician self-referral law, established a minimum settlement amount and established guidelines for providers' initial submissions in the disclosure process.
Report: bundled payments may reduce cost of care.
When structured well, bundled payment models can be effective and profitable for hospitals that can reduce the cost of each episode of care, according to a study conducted by Singletrak Analytics and DataGen. The authors were optimistic for the proliferation and impact of bundled payments on the cost of healthcare, but expressed some skepticism on the future of accountable care organizations.
Study: cortical screw fixation equally stable as pedicle fixation.
A recent study published in Spine investigated the biomechanical behavior of a cortical screw fixation system in comparison to a traditional pedicle screw system. The study concluded that regardless of the type of support, cortical screw fixation and pedicle screw fixation yielded the same amount of stability.
Healthcare industry is behind on ICD-10 progress.
The healthcare industry is not making the amount of progress that is needed for a smooth transition to ICD-10 in October 2014, according to a letter submitted by the Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange, an HHS advisor, to the Secretary of HHS. About half the vendors indicate they are half or less than halfway complete with product development. Over two-fifths of provider respondents indicated they did not know when they would complete their impact assessment, business changes and begin external testing.
More Articles on Spine:
6 Spine Surgeons on Physician Partnerships for Improved Care
Outlook on Spine Surgeon Relationships With Hospitals: Q&A With Dr. Bryan Oh of BASIC Spine
10 Tips for Spine Surgeons to Consider When Choosing a Practice