Becker's ASC Review

82 ORTHOPEDICS Orthopedic market lost $4.8 billion due to COVID-19 By Laura Dyrda T he global orthopedic market lost billions in revenue since the COVID-19 pandemic began, according to an April 28 GlobalData report. Five takeaways: 1. The global orthopedic market was worth $48.4 billion before the pandem- ic and has lost $4.8 billion in revenue since it began. 2. Orthopedic market growth decreased about 10 percent to $43.6 billion in 2020, after elective surgery rates dropped. 3. GlobalData, an analytics firm, estimated 15 percent to 30 percent of elec- tive surgeries were canceled last year. 4. The company predicts elective orthopedic surgery volume won't reach 2019 volume until the end of this year. 5. The pandemic also shifted the site of care for orthopedic and total joint surgeries from inpatient hospitals to outpatient ASCs. Orthopedic device companies are tailoring instruments to meet the needs of ASCs as smaller organizations, according to Tina Deng, principal medical devices analyst at consulting firm GlobalData. n New Hampshire orthopedic practice closes after hospital drops 17-year service agreement By Laura Dyrda A Gilford, N.H.-based orthopedic practice closed after a local hospital decided not to renew its service agreement, according to a report in The Laconia Daily Sun. Five details: 1. Advanced Orthopaedic Specialists' four physician partners disbanded at the end of March. 2. The practice had a service agreement with Laconia, N.H.-based Lakes Re- gion General Hospital, dating to 2004. In December, Concord (N.H.) Hospital acquired Lakes Regional, and decided not to renew it. 3. In a statement to the newspaper, Lakes Regional said the existing service agreement was not financially viable. "As Concord Hospital acquires our as- sets through bankruptcy, they need to assume contracts that are supportable in the long term and reject those which are not," according to the statement. 4. The physicians of Advanced Orthopaedic Specialists said they attempted to reach an agreement with Concord (N.H.) Orthopaedics as well, but failed. 5. Two of the four Advanced Orthopaedic Specialists physicians are indepen- dently pursuing new options to continue their practice while the other two are in talks with Wolfeboro, N.H.-based Huggins Hospital, according to the report. n Dr. Barbara Bergin's outlook on orthopedics in ASCs By Carly Behm B arbara Bergin, MD, orthopedic sur- geon at Austin-based Texas Orthope- dics, Sports & Rehabilitation Associ- ates, spoke to Becker's about the growth of women in the orthopedic field and her outlook on ASCs. Question: How do you see orthope- dics in the ASC industry changing in the next three years? Dr. Barbara Bergin: I can't speak for three years specifically, but the things that are hap- pening, and to a certain extent COVID-19, have accelerated this. People are starting to think more in terms of having total joint replacements in ASCs, and that was making slow progress. Insurers were reluctant at first to pay for total joint replacements in ASCs, and pa- tients were reluctant as well. It takes a lot of forethought to coach a patient through an outpatient surgical procedure as complicated as a total joint replacement. When I began my training, a knee arthroscopy would stay in the hospital for three days. A rotator cuff procedure would require a stay in the hos- pital for four days. en all of a sudden we were admitting patients overnight, a 23-hour observation. So we were still putting anterior cruciate reconstructions, shoulder proce- dures overnight. at transition even took a long time to occur. But now it's looking like a total joint replace- ment is going to be done more and more in the ASC setting, especially on healthy patients who are not on Medicare. Medicare may have said they're going to allow surgery in the ASC setting, but the amount that they pay is so little that it barely covers the cost of the implant and the other equipment that's necessary to perform the surgery. So I think it's going to be a little while before Medicare patients will be done in an outpatient setting. However, Medicare patients are older and oen have other medical conditions which may be better taken care of or addressed in the inpatient setting. n

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