GLG News by Orthopedic Surgeons (US)

The implant market is very competitive with surgeons being aggresive as early adopters to try to get a competitive edge and market themselves as using state of the art implants. This is pushed by the implant makers and often offer cooperative advertising....

Alphatec product line will expand and increase their market share The cervical plate from Progressive is much more promising than the Trestle plate developed by Alphatec, and should increase sales and improve the cervical implant portfolio

the use of Vertex polyaxial screws is only a minor part of the spinal implant protfolio at Medtronic (MDT:NYSE).  This should not affect the bottom line to any significant extent.

Possible nonoperative treatment for arthritis of the knee which effects 10's of millions of patients, with a predictable lasting effect. Could revolutionize the treatment of arthritis which currently has no predictable, lasting  nonoperative treatments.

-The new regulations will probably result in quality improvement in the selected targeted areas -It is unclear whether the cost of implementation and monitoring will offset the savings to the medicare system -Medicare will likely introduce further quality measures to fall under similar payment cuts. ...

If back pain persists, the patient should be referred to a specialist so further diagnosis and workup can be undertaken.  Patients with back pain are treated with a variety of interventions and medications in the hope that they will return to their normal activities.  Too often, the initial...

-Decrease Mortality -Decrease Medical Costs -

House calls are not likely to expand to subspecialties, except in circumstances where a followup visit is required, and the primary doctor recommends specialized care.  One exception might be expanding the scope of house calls to cover all non-emergent care for the elderly who can afford an in-house...

The industry of orthobiologics is a fast growing industry with wide acceptance.  These products often require careful patient selection and judicious application - this limits usage and availability.  Increasing options and widening scope could lend to additive usage in more procedures,...

-There is no reason to think that medical tourism will decline in popularity.  Certainly for cosmetic procedures, there is no insurance-related issues that might curb the rise of offshore surgery.  -As for overseas experimental treatments, they will continue to be attractive to the U.S. consumer...