8 things for spine surgeons to know for Thursday — Jan. 18, 2018

Spine

Here are eight things for spinal surgeons to know for Jan. 18, 2018.

Zimmer Biomet generates $7.8B in 2017 sales, spine segment sees 14% growth
Zimmer Biomet released its 2017 fourth quarter and full year financial results. Fourth quarter sales topped $2 billion, an increase of 3 percent compared to the fourth quarter in 2016. Zimmer Biomet's fourth quarter net earnings totaled $1.25 billion. Zimmer Biomet reported $7.82 billion in full-year 2017 sales, a 1.8 percent increase over the prior year. Full-year 2017 spine sales reached $759 million, representing a 14.7 percent increase from 2016 sales.

Former neurosurgeon's bankruptcy trial halted due to new plea deal
The trial of former Billings, Mont.-based neurosurgeon John Schneider, MD, for bankruptcy has been delayed to give his defense team extra time to reach a plea deal, according to the Billings Gazette. After Dr. Schneider pled guilty to five counts of bankruptcy fraud last year, his trial was scheduled for Feb. 12. However, after negotiations with prosecutors, the neurosurgeon's trial is set for April 9, with hopes a plea deal is signed before. Read more about the case, here.

Amazon jumps into healthcare with JP Morgan and Berkshire Hathaway
On Jan. 30, Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JP Morgan revealed a new healthcare company focused on boosting employee satisfaction and decreasing costs. To begin, the new healthcare company will hone in on technology solutions with the aim of increasing transparency and quality of care. The three companies encompass 500,000-plus employees across the country.

Paradigm Spine publishes coflex vs. decompression study
Paradigm Spine published its European study of coflex and decompression alone two-year trial results in the Journal of Neurosurgery Spine. Patients in the coflex group experience higher composite clinical scores, 0.017, as compared to the decompression alone group. Decompression alone patients reported more loss of foraminal and posterior disc height maintenance compared to the coflex group. Read more findings, here.

Senate confirms Alex Azar as HHS secretary
On Jan. 24, the U.S. voted to confirm Alex Azar as HHS secretary, according to Reuters. Mr. Azar is a former pharmaceutical executive and lobbyist. He spent five years as the president of pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly's U.S. unit. As HHS secretary, Mr. Azar will oversee the Trump administration's opioid epidemic response, efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act and address rising drug prices.

Mercy Medical Center reports 6% readmission rate for spinal fusion – lowest in Maryland
A 2016 CMS analysis conducted by Dexur showed Baltimore-based Mercy Medical Center was the highest discharging hospital with the lowest 30-day readmission rate for DRG-460, spinal fusion except cervical without major complications or comorbidity, procedures. Mercy Medical Center experienced a 6.08 percent 30-day readmission rate for DRG-460.

Performance indicators in spine: Thoughts on future development
A new study published in Spine examines the performance indicators for spine surgery. The researchers included a total of 27 full text articles in the literature review. They weren't able to identify performance indicators based on current literature because the articles measured performance by criteria they lacked. After identifying a need for the first performance indicator in spine surgery, study authors decided current registry work is providing a necessary foundation but will require benchmarking to truly measure performance. Read more, here.

57% of physicians would require Americans to hold health insurance
InCrowd conducted a physician survey examining the biggest cost concerns for medical professionals. In November 2017, 203 physicians completed the survey, and 201 physicians completed a follow-up survey after Congress passed the tax bill in December. Seventy-six percent of the physicians believe there will be Medicaid cuts and 69 percent believe there will be Medicare cuts. More than half — 57 percent — feel Americans should be required to carry health insurance.

 

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