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January 5, 2009
Today's Top Story
1. AAOS Nominating Committee releases nominations list.
Other News
2. Adjusting warfarin dosing to optimize anticoagulation.
3. PhRMA manufacturers stem the flow of freebies.
4. CMS to address fraud by requiring security bonds from equipment suppliers.
5. Missouri.
6. Texas.
7. Vermont.
8. AAOS exercise application now available on Facebook.
Today's Top Story
1. AAOS Nominating Committee releases nominations list.
The 2009 AAOS Nominating Committee has determined to recommend the following individuals to serve in the specified AAOS leadership positions:
Second Vice President: Daniel J. Berry, MD
Member-at-Large (no age designation): Paul Tornetta III, MD
Member-at-Large (under age 45): Michael L. Parks, MD
National Membership Committee representative: Lisa K. Cannada, MD
Additionally, the committee has recommended the following nominees for the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery:
J. Lawrence Marsh, MD
Sohail K. Mirza, MD, MPH
Elizabeth A. Szalay, MD
David C. Teague, MD
The AAOS fellowship will have the opportunity to vote on these recommendations at the business meeting on Thursday, February 26, 2009, at 9:20 a.m. during the 2009 Annual Meeting in Las Vegas. A letter from Stuart L. Weinstein, MD, chair of the 2009 Nominating Committee, detailing the process by which the Nominating Committee developed its recommendations was sent by e-mail or fax to all AAOS fellows on December 26, 2008; it is also on the AAOS homepage.  Read more...
Other News
2. Adjusting warfarin dosing to optimize anticoagulation.
A study published in the January issue of the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis suggests that anticoagulation control may be improved by changing warfarin dose only when the International Normalized Ratio (INR) is 1.7 or lower, or 3.3 or higher. The authors conducted an observational study of 3,961 patients receiving warfarin from 94 community-based clinics over a mean time of 15.2 months. For each patient, they computed an observed minus expected (O - E) score, comparing the number of dose changes predicted by the model to the number of changes observed, and examined the ability of O - E scores to predict time in therapeutic INR range (TTR). They found that the best INR control was achieved among patients who deviated the least from the predicted number of dose changes (mean TTR 70.1 percent unadjusted), while patients with greater deviations had lower TTR (65.8 percent and 62.0 percent for fewer and more dose changes respectively, Bonferroni-adjusted P < 0.05/3 for both comparisons). On average, clinicians in the study changed the dose when the INR was 1.8 or lower/3.2 or higher (mean TTR: 68 percent); optimal management would have been to change the dose when the INR was 1.7 or lower/3.3 or higher (predicted TTR: 74 percent).
Read more...
Read the abstract…
3. PhRMA manufacturers stem the flow of freebies.
The New York Times reports that about 40 drug manufacturers have signed on to a code written by industry trade group the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) that bans giving away branded items such as pens and mugs to physicians. The voluntary initiative also reiterates PhRMA’s 2002 code prohibiting more expensive goods and services such as tickets to professional sports games and junkets to resorts, and asks companies that finance medical courses, conferences or scholarships to leave the selection of study material and scholarship recipients to outside program coordinators. Supporters call the move a step toward ending a barrage of branding and logos that surround and may subliminally influence physicians and patients. However, some critics say that the code does not go far enough, as it still permits such activities as drug companies underwriting free meals at restaurants for physicians and staff as long as the meals are accompanied by educational presentations.  Read more...
4. CMS to address fraud by requiring security bonds from equipment suppliers.
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced that it will require certain suppliers of durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics and supplies (DMEPOS) to post a $50,000 surety bond as part of an anti-fraud initiative. Existing suppliers must comply with the requirement by Oct. 2, 2009, while newly enrolling suppliers will need to comply by May 4, 2009. Additionally, suppliers who have had certain adverse legal actions imposed against them in the past may be required to post a higher bond. The 2007 Medicare error rate report found approximately $1 billion in improper payments for medical equipment and supplies.  Read more...
5. Missouri.
According to the Kansas City Star, a bill under consideration in the Missouri General Assembly would allow physicians and other healthcare workers to deduct Medicaid payments from their taxable income as an incentive for them to see more Medicaid recipients. The bill’s sponsor says that the state’s Medicaid payments are too low and do not cover actual treatment costs. He estimates that the bill, if enacted, could save providers about $12.4 million per year.  Read more...
6. Texas.
The Dallas Morning News reports that a five-year-old Texas medical liability reform law has succeeded in reducing the number of lawsuits against physicians, but has also resulted in an unwieldy workload for state medical board investigators. When the law was passed, the Texas Medical Board was appropriated additional funding and staff to meet the increased need to settle cases out of court, but officials say that a growing number of complaints has increased the caseload, and it now takes an average of 294 days to resolve a case. The board's goal is to resolve complaints in an average of 240 days.  Read more...
7. Vermont.
According to the Vermont Times Argus, some lawmakers in that state want to increase the transparency of an existing reporting system through which the Vermont Attorney General's Office issues an annual report detailing the amount of money those in the medical field receive from the pharmaceutical industry. The existing system has been criticized as unfriendly to users, and includes a trade-secret exemption that allows industry to keep the identities of some physicians and payments secret. One legislator states that the current reporting system tends to cast "false, unbiased suspicion" on the entire medical field.  Read more...
8. AAOS exercise application now available on Facebook.
AAOS has launched "Get Up! Get Out! Get Moving! Exercise Now!" an application for users of the Facebook.com Web site. The application, which is designed to encourage exercise and promote bone health, allows users to set and track fitness goals, join teams that can challenge friends to meet or beat personal or team goals, and compete with people from around the globe to earn points. If you have a Facebook account, log in and click the following link to locate the AAOS application:
http://apps.facebook.com/exercisegoals

 

AAOS Headline News Now is a thrice-weekly member service produced by the AAOS Publications Department.

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