At AAOS, Should Product Companies Fear Physician Employment?
Executive Summary
By some estimates, nearly half of all physicians in certain specialties are no longer independent practitioners, but work within some collaborative arrangement with hospitals as full-time employees. Cardiologists and cardiovascular surgeons are leading the way, but orthopedic surgeons aren't far behind. In a session at this year's American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons meeting, entitled "Hospitals Buying Surgeon Group Practices: Passing Trend or New Paradigm?," surgeons, hospital executives, and consultants offered their thoughts as to where this trend might lead.
You may also be interested in...
OrthoSensor: Will Sensor-Enabled Data Transform Orthopedics?
OrthoSensor is trying to bring a data-driven revolution to orthopedics. It is building a three-legged platform, with intelligent instruments, intelligent implants, and analytics, all driven by sensor and other micro-electronics technology that feed back to surgeons vital data both intra- and post-operatively. Critical to its strategy: that improving outcomes in orthopedic surgery rests on developing better, data-rich surgical techniques, rather than novel implants made of new materials or design features.
OrthoSensor: Will Sensor-Enabled Data Transform Orthopedics?
OrthoSensor is trying to bring a data-driven revolution to orthopedics. It is building a three-legged platform, with intelligent instruments, intelligent implants, and analytics, all driven by sensor and other micro-electronics technology that feed back to surgeons vital data both intra- and post-operatively. Critical to its strategy: that improving outcomes in orthopedic surgery rests on developing better, data-rich surgical techniques, rather than novel implants made of new materials or design features.
Provider Trends: ACOs Begin to Take Shape
A new health-care delivery mode that could drastically alter how the industry is run took another significant step forward at the end of March, when the US Department of Health and Human Services issued proposed rules to govern Accountable Care Organizations. ACOs are designed to create strong networks of physicians and hospitals with aligned incentives focused on patient quality of care and costs. To gain some insight on possible future implications of ACOs for the medical device industry, Medtech Insight recently spoke with Ron Wince, president and CEO of the consulting firm Guidon Performance Solutions.