Becker's ASC Review

72 ORTHOPEDICS Canadian province arranges to send joint replacement patients to Ohio, North Dakota By Carly Behm I n order to manage patient backlogs, the government of Manitoba in Canada signed deals with Fargo, N.D.-based Sanford Health and Cleveland Clinic to take some of its hip and knee replacement patients, the Winnipeg Free Press reported Aug. 24. Manitoba is expanding a partnership it established with Sanford Health in January. Starting in September, as many as 10 hip and knee patients will go to Sanford each month. The province previously sent some eligible spine patients to Sanford to alleviate backlogs. The arrangement with Cleveland Clinic will be for hip replacement patients and will begin in September. About 100 Canadian patients are expected to be treated at Cleveland Clinic in 2022 and 250 more in 2023 and 2024, the report said. Within Canada, Manitoba officials also signed an agreement to send additional hip and knee patients to Big Thunder Orthopedic Associates in Ontario. That practice will take 20 to 30 patients per month. Eligible patients will be identified by their healthcare provider, according to the report. n Chiropractor sentenced to 14 months in spine surgery kickback scheme By Carly Behm A California chiropractor was sentenced to 14 months in prison for his role in a spine surgery kickback scheme, the Justice Department said Aug. 26. Brian Carrico pleaded guilty to one count of soliciting kickbacks, according to a Justice Department release. Along with his sentence, he was fined $25,000. From June 2004 to December 2013, Mr. Carrico and William Parker were involved in a kickback scheme with Long Beach, Calif.-based Pacific Hospital. Mr. Parker's Union Choice Therapy Network contracted with the hospital. The duo offered a quid pro quo system where the referral of patients was contingent on the hospital entering a management services agreement with Union Choice. The hospital overpaid for services under the agreement. In the last five years of the scheme, more than $500 million in medical bills was submitted for spine cases involving kickbacks. More than 20 defendants, including Mr. Parker, were convicted for participation in the scheme, the Justice Department said. In June, an accountant involved in the kickback scheme was sentenced to 15 months in prison. n Zimmer Biomet denied new trial in $3.5M defective hip replacement suit By Marcus Robertson A n Iowa woman will keep her $3.55 million jury award aer a federal court denied a new trial request from devicemaker Biomet, now known as Zimmer Biomet, the Des Moines Register reported Aug. 26. Lori Nicholson of Fort Dodge had a total hip replacement with a metal-on-metal Biomet M2a Magnum implant in 2007, but aerward she experienced pain and suffered a cyst on her hip, the report said. Her surgeon said the metal-on-metal wear was releasing metal ions into her body, loosening the joint and contributing to the cyst, and her blood showed six times the normal level of chromium. In 2011, she underwent a second surgery to replace the first implant with a metal-on-plastic device, the report said. Ms. Nicholson sued Biomet two years later for defective design, and in 2020 a jury awarded her $1.05 million in compensatory damages and $2.5 million in punitive damages, finding the company displayed a "willful and wanton reckless disregard" for patient safety. Biomet emails introduced at trial showed one company official responding to a physician's suggestion for further testing "could be (sic) sales to a halt," the report said. Another email showed an administrator telling employees to "not accept delays" on projects important for the company's bottom line. e lawsuit was one of thousands nationwide related to the M2a Magnum implant, the report said. More than 90 percent of plaintiffs in the lawsuits accepted a 2014 settlement offer that amounted to approximately $200,000 per case. n

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