Healthcare as an industry is up against many threats and challenges.
Two orthopedic surgeons connected with Becker's to answer, "What is the biggest threat to healthcare?"
Ask Orthopedic Surgeons is a weekly series of questions posed to surgeons around the country about clinical, business and policy issues affecting orthopedic care. We invite all orthopedic surgeon and specialist responses.
Next question: What is the most challenging part of being an orthopedic surgeon today?
Please send responses to Riz Hatton at rhatton@beckershealthcare.com by 5 p.m. CST Thursday, March 28.
Note: Responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Nader Nassif, MD. Division Chief of Joint Replacement Surgery at Hoag Orthopedic Institute (Newport Beach, Calif.): I think one of the biggest threats to healthcare currently is the current regulatory and economic burden. The increased requirements for compliance with government quality programs such as [Medicare's merit-based incentive payment system] have now attached significant financial penalties without any data that shows that these reporting programs improve outcomes in the setting of specialty care. This combined with increased labor costs and overall cost of care without commensurate increase in physician reimbursement will result in burnout and ultimately access issues for patients.
Charles Rosen, MD. Orthopedic Surgeon at UCI Health (Orange, Calif.): The biggest threat to the future of healthcare is the continued control of medicine by industry — namely big pharma and medical device manufacturers. The control is done through multiple channels. Firstly, the FDA as a regulatory body is half-funded by industry — i.e., the industry they are regulating. This is a conflict resulting in industry pushing through treatments with complications swept under the rug by industry consultants and their papers. Financial conflicts of advisory committee members are not made public. Any treatment approved by the FDA means preemption of any liability by industry regardless of how many patients die or are made sick.
Secondly, medical society board members are mostly industry consultants. Society meetings and publications are influenced by extensive funding of industry to sell products. Advertising by industry is used as leverage to keep societies promoting their products and not publishing negative literature.
Unless medical treatment is determined by independent physicians and researchers, then national medical treatment guidelines and approval of dangerous and unproven treatments will continue to put Americans at the bottom of health outcomes of industrialized countries. For industry, a sick society is good for business, and profit is all that matters.