GLG News by Physicians who Perform Knee Replacement Surgery (US)

Vertebral compression fractures are a painful and deblilitating problem. We will see an increase as the baby boomers move solidly into clinically significant osteoporosis...Hip fracture also will increase for the same reason....although they do not have a high complication rate if the correct surgery...

- Smith and Nephew's patent on intramedullary hip screws was upheld.- However, it is difficult to enforce and Synthes has not taken any products off of the market. 

This article speculates that hip resurfacing will increase in popularity.  Because traditional total hip arthroplasty is predictable, reliable, and safe, hip resurfacing will not capture more than 4-5% of the THA market. 

1. An electronic health record will streamline patient's care, making it more effective and less costly both to themselves and the medical system.2. Some form of this idea will become indispensable in the near future.  

-Resurfacing is not new and will result in modest inroads into the market. -The HemiCAP from Arthrosurface expands surgical options in osteonecrosis of the shoulder and hip.

The study groups will only find that more data are needed, and a change in Medicare coverage will not change practice.

Pay for performance will be part of Medicare within 5 years.

- The NC Stat system relies on surface EMG and has only limited clinical data supporting it - Some Medicare regional groups have denied coverage for surface EMG, so its long term prospects are not good. - the current legal investigation is probably a small blip