Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1388297
33 DEVICES & IMPLANTS Orthopedic surgeons critical of Intermountain's supplier switch By Laura Dyrda S alt Lake City-based Intermountain Healthcare's decision to drop Arthrex for DePuy Synthes products has come under fire, according to a report in e Salt Lake Tribune. Arthrex had been the longstanding orthopedic device supplier for Intermountain until January, when the system and its insurance subsidiary signed a new deal with DePuy Synthes estimated to generate $5 million in savings this year. Inter- mountain orthopedic surgeon Paul Winterton, MD, spoke out against the move, suggesting the decision was driven by payments DePuy Synthes made to colleagues. Hugh West, MD, the surgeon who led an inter- nal committee review of orthopedic device sup- plies, has received $13 million in royalties from DePuy Synthes in the last seven years, according to the federal government. He received royalties for his inventions and does not get paid when the devices are used. e Salt Lake Tribune said nine physicians it interviewed, in addition to Dr. Win- terton, reported concerns about Intermountain's decision to switch suppliers, arguing the new supplier's implants are lower quality and surgeons will have a learning curve to implementing the devices, which could affect outcomes. "ey are willing to compromise patient care over a few pennies," Dr. Winterton told the publi- cation. "It's just absolutely despicable." Dr. Winterton and other Intermountain physi- cians received payments from Arthrex for train- ing, consulting and other services, but not royal- ties. It is common for orthopedic companies to pay for surgeon training and consulting since the surgeons spend time away from their practices for these activities. Intermountain told the publication its decision to switch suppliers was driven by costs and Arthex's proposal didn't meet the system's pricing require- ments. n Medtronic sponsors American Spine Registry By Alan Condon M edtronic has sponsored the American Spine Registry, a collabo- rative effort between the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons that aims to improve spine surgery outcomes through data. The registry is working with Medtronic to "enhance the scalability, sustain- ability, ease-of-use and relevance of national spine data collection," Steven Glassman, MD, executive committee co-chair of the registry, said in a May 5 news release. Through the registry, AAOS and AANS help surgeons understand which spine procedures work best in certain patients by providing data to guide clinical decision-making. "This partnership, coupled with our recent acquisition of Medicrea, rein- forces our commitment to high-quality data and focus on the application of artificial intelligence, predictive analytics and data-enabled therapies driving improved patient outcomes in spine care," said Carlton Weatherby, vice president and general manager of Medtronic Spine and Biologics. The American Spine Registry launched in 2020 and now includes more than 200 practice locations in 35 states. n Medacta gets green light for AR spine system in Europe By Alan Condon M edacta's NextAR augmented reality surgical system has received CE marking for spine surgery, as well as for shoulder and knee applications. In addition, the FDA approved NextAR's shoulder application, and cleared the system's knee application last year. NextAR is designed to improve surgical accuracy and reduce the cost per case by eliminating robotic arms or other OR equipment operators that require a lot of space in the operating room, according to the company. The system includes artificial intelligence and machine learning tools to improve preoperative planning. "We wanted to take another step forward in personalized medicine, im- proving accuracy in computer-assisted surgery," Medacta CEO Francesco Siccardi said in a May 27 news release. "We are proud to have developed an extremely versatile platform, with a single, compact hardware that ap- plies to both joint and spine applications." Medacta said the technology is ideal for ASCs as it requires less OR space, has a low upfront capital investment and lower cost per case compared to other surgical technologies. n