Becker's Spine Review

29 PRACTICE MANAGEMENT 3 Northwell Health hospitals get advanced spine certification By Carly Behm T hree Northwell Health hos- pitals have been named Ad- vanced Spine Centers of Excel- lence by The Joint Commission. Long Island Jewish Medical Center, Long Island Jewish Medical Center Valley Stream and North Shore Uni- versity Hospital are among five facili- ties nationwide to earn the recogni- tion, according to a news release shared with Becker's on May 17. The three facilities combined per- form more than 1,300 spine surger- ies annually. Northwell Health's spine program in- cludes surgical technologies such as guided navigation and spine robots. "Institutionally, these hospitals have supported Northwell's vision for of- fering the highest quality of care while remaining forward thinking and innovative in spine technolo- gies," Nicholas Sgaglione, MD, se- nior vice president and executive director of Northwell Health Ortho- paedic Institute, said in the release. "Operative surgical investments have been made in the fields of spine robotics and navigation, which elevates these programs as leaders in the spine market." n Good news, bad news for orthopedic surgeons: 6 observations By Carly Behm O rthopedic surgeons have seen many positive changes in the last two years, but many challenges are ahead. Here are three pieces of good news and three pieces of bad news: e good news 1. Orthopedic pay is rising. Medscape's 2022 physician compensation report shows the or- thopedic specialty busting out of a two-year rut during the pandemic. In 2020 and 2021, average compensation stayed at $511,000. But in the latest report, compensation rose to $557,000. Average incentive bonuses have slowly risen since 2020 as well. In 2020, the average incentive bonus was $96,000; in 2021 it was $116,000, and in 2022 it hit $126,000. 2. Female representation is growing. Al- though orthopedics still has a low percentage of female physicians in the field, the number is slowly increasing. In 2021, Medscape's re- port found 9 percent of orthopedic physicians were women. In its latest report, 11 percent of orthopedic physicians were women. Despite growth, women in orthopedics still face barriers. "e biggest barrier is the perception that this is a man's job," Jane Tan, MD, of Atlanta-based Resurgens Orthopaedics told Becker's. "ese misconceptions start early and oen dissuade female medical students from even applying (essentially, the battle is lost before it is be- gun). is is why it is important to encourage medical students, and even high school stu- dents who have a love of biology, sports, and/ or mechanics, to think about this career as a real, tangible opportunity." 3. Total joint replacement demand is ris- ing; surgical technology is advancing. A study published in the April 2019 edition of the Journal of Rheumatology projected hip and knee replacements to more than double by 2040. Shorter-term projections also saw knee replacements rise 110 percent, and hip replacements grow 75 percent by 2025. More hospitals, practices and ASCs are cap- italizing on robot-assisted technology that can provide less invasive surgery, quicker recovery and data insights. Jason Snibbe, of Los Angeles-based Snibbe Orthopedics, said he believes current systems will con- tinue to progress. "Robotic surgery will improve with auto- mation," he said. "We will be able to cut less muscle and tissue and still provide accurate operations. e design of the implants will change because we will prepare bone in different ways with unique instruments. I think artificial intelligence will provide in- formation about the outcomes of every de- cision we make during surgery." e bad news 1. CMS remains a challenge. Last year, the American Association of Orthopaedic Sur- geons issued formal comments to CMS on the agency's proposed payment policy chang- es for 2022. e AAOS focused on two key proposed changes reversing the elimination of the inpatient-only list and pulling back the 298 procedures, including 266 musculoskel- etal procedures that were removed from the list Jan. 1. 2. e specialty is facing a shortage. Accord- ing to financial planners Physicians rive, the number of orthopedic surgeons is ex- pected to shrink by about 5,000 physicians. e supply of surgeons is limited in part by the small number of physicians who complete residencies each year, according to physician search and consulting firm Merritt Hawkins. Another factor is the number of retirements in the field. About 60 percent of active ortho- pedic surgeons are 55 years old or older. 3. Consolidation is pressuring indepen- dent practices. From management services organizations to private equity, orthopedic practices are turning to groups that will help bolster their presence in their markets. Su- pergroups of 100 or more physicians are also gaining prominence. e trend has drawn the attention of orthopedic leaders. "ere is no limit for how big an independent orthopedic group should be, so long as it is structured in a way that maintains efficien- cies amid growth," Nicholas Grosso, MD, of Bethesda, Md.-based the Centers for Ad- vanced Orthopaedics said. n

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