Orthopedic

Prescription opioids significantly contributed to a rise in drug-related fatalities in the past decade, and orthopedic surgeons are the third-highest prescribers of opioids among U.S. physicians, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

Miami Orthopedics & Sports Medicine Institute's John Uribe, MD, spoke to Becker's Spine Review about the biggest challenges facing surgeons today and how they affect patients, as well as his hopes for the future of medicine.

Orthopedic surgeon Andrew Hodge, MD, joined Paris (Ill.) Clinic of Horizon Health, reports Tribune Star.

Miami Orthopedics & Sports Medicine Institute's John Uribe, MD, spoke to Becker's Spine Review about what trends he expects to see in total joint replacement and preservation over the next five to 10 years.

A study published in JAMA showed that pairing lower opioid pill counts with education efforts decreased how many pills knee surgery patients took and how long they used the pills after surgery.

Here are six orthopedic surgeons making the news this week.

Traditionally orthopedics has not featured as much consolidation and private equity investment as other specialties but a significant uptick in transactions is expected in the future, based on insight from McGuireWoods.

Orthopedic surgeon Paul Burton, DO, of Redlands (Calif.) Community Hospital completed a six-day mission performing joint replacement surgeries in Haiti, reports IECN.

Avi Kumar, MD, is a fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon with Bradenton, Fla.-based Coastal Orthopedics, specializing in traumatic, acute and chronic injuries of the shoulder and elbow.

With a long-standing value-based care delivery model, Irvine, Calif.-based Hoag Orthopedic Institute has cared for more than 1,000 commercial bundle patients and nearly 3,000 under Medicare's bundled payment program.