Becker's Spine Review

40 PRACTICE MANAGEMENT Kentucky hospital maintains spine, total joint accreditation By Alan Condon T he Joint Commission has reaccredited Danville, Ky.-based Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center for spine sur- gery and total hip and knee replacement. The spine and joint replacement programs rec- ognize centers that demonstrate excellence in patient care and outcomes based on an objec- tive set of standards that align with the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons' guidelines. A Joint Commission review evaluated the programs at Ephraim McDowell in Decem- ber for compliance with its standards, which are developed in consultation with healthcare experts and providers, measurement experts and patients. "We commend [Ephraim McDowell] for using certification to reduce variation in its clinical processes and to strengthen its program struc- ture and management framework for orthope- dic patients," Mark Pelletier, RN, chief operating officer of the Joint Commission, said in a March 11 news release. n Rothman Orthopaedic Institute, 2 CarePoint hospitals to create New Jersey Centers of Excellence By Carly Behm P hiladelphia-based Rothman Orthopae- dic Institute will bring its surgeons and medical technology to two New Jersey CarePoint Health hospitals in a five-year part- nership, the organizations said March 23. Hoboken University Medical Center and Jersey City, N.J.-based Christ Hospital will create an orthopedic Centers of Excellence as part of the deal. Other initiatives will aim to expand access to subspecialized orthopedic services, allow con- servative treatment options and enhance and im- plement sports medicine and physical therapy. n Spine surgeon among 3 orthopedists to join Kentucky hospital By Alan Condon C HI Saint Joseph Health in Lexington, Ky., has welcomed three orthopedic specialists, including spine surgeon Vincent De- Palma, DO, The Sentinel Echo reported March 13. Dr. DePalma recently completed a fellowship in spine surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. He specializes in the treatment of degenerative disc disease, spinal deformities, herniated discs and myelopathy, among other conditions. The other two physicians are Kevin Magone, MD, a sports medicine specialist, and general orthopedic surgeon Adam Franson, DO. "We needed to broaden the scope of services and that would al- low us to keep more patients locally and create more access to that six, seven county area that we serve," John Yanes, CEO of the hospital, told the Echo. "This has increased the level of care in the community." n 3 orthopedic practices targeted by hackers in the past year By Alan Condon C ybersecurity breaches are becoming more common among physician practices in addition to hospitals and health systems. In 2020, healthcare data breaches increased 55.1 percent to 599, with 37 out of 50 states reporting more breaches in 2020 than in 2019. In a recent interview, Des Plaines-based Illinois Bone and Joint In- stitute CEO André Blom said cybersecurity is becoming one of the biggest drivers for smaller orthopedic practices to band together. Here are three cybersecurity attacks at orthopedic practices in the past year: 1. In February, Richmond-based OrthoVirginia was the victim of a cyberattack that affected its phone system, causing disconnections and longer wait times. OrthoVirginia does not believe patient or em- ployee data has been breached, but is investigating the issue with cybersecurity professionals and law enforcement 2. Tyler, Texas-based Precision Spine Care reported in January that a hacker accessed an employee's email account and attempted to commit payment fraud. The practice said that personal information of 20,787 patients was accessible via the hacked email account, but did not have evidence that patient information was misused. 3. In April 2020, Tampa-based Florida Orthopaedic Institute report- ed a ransomware attack on its servers that impacted patient data. Some patients' personal information may have been accessed or taken during the incident, the practice said. n

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