The orthopedic industry has spent the last decade absorbing waves of new technology, consolidation and reimbursement pressure — and its public posture has been largely optimistic.
But orthopedic leaders are working through more difficult questions: whether expensive innovation is actually improving outcomes, whether volume-driven practice models are sustainable and whether consolidation is a strategy or a survival move.
Four orthopedic leaders connected with Becker’s to share where they think the industry needs to be more honest with itself.
Ask Orthopedic Surgeons is a series of questions posed to orthopedic surgeons and leaders around the country about clinical, business and policy issues affecting orthopedic care. Becker’s invites all orthopedic surgeons and specialists to respond.
Next question: What does physician independence actually look like in 2026, and is it still a realistic goal?
Please send responses to Cameron Cortigiano at ccortigiano@beckershealthcare.com by 5 p.m. Central time Oct. 26.
Note: Responses were lightly edited for clarity and length.
Question: Where do you think the orthopedic industry is being dishonest with itself right now?
Evalina Burger, MD. Chair of the Department of Orthopedics at the University of Colorado Anschutz (Aurora): Orthopedic practice and research face potential ethical risks from large industry payments that may influence implant selection, kickback arrangements disguised as consulting contracts and misconduct such as ghostwriting, data or image manipulation and biased or inaccurate citations. The new technology is slow to catch up mainly as insurance does not allow us to use it so we can evaluate the products in timely manner.
Amit Jain, MD. Spine Surgeon and Vice President of Care Transformation at Johns Hopkins Medicine (Baltimore): We convince ourselves that adopting shiny, expensive technologies equates to value, while ignoring whether they actually improve long-term patient outcomes or reduce total cost of care. Innovation without rigorous, demonstrable outcome improvement is just overhead disguised as progress.
Farzin Kabaei, MD. Orthopedic Surgeon at Docs Health (Los Angeles): We keep telling ourselves we can make up for falling reimbursement with volume. We cannot. There are only so many joints one surgeon can replace well in a day, and every cut gets answered with a faster clinic and a shorter visit. At some point that stops being efficiency and starts being worse care. The second thing we are not honest about is consolidation. We call it scale and integration. Much of the time it is a surgeon who ran out of options. If we want good surgeons to stay independent, we have to say out loud that the current math does not work.
Joseph Zuckerman, MD. Chair of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at NYU Langone Health (New York City): Many within the industry believe that new technology without proven benefits will continue to be paid for.
At the Becker’s 32nd Annual Meeting: The Business and Operations of ASCs, taking place October 29-31 in Chicago, ASC leaders, surgeons and healthcare executives will explore strategies to drive growth, enhance operational performance, navigate reimbursement challenges and prepare for the future of ambulatory surgery. Apply for complimentary registration now.
