Becker's Spine Review

33 Healthcare Trends Dr. Sanjay Khurana Helps Rescue Harrison Ford From Crashed Air Plane By Laura Dyrda S anjay Khurana, MD, a spine surgeon at DISC Sports & Spine Cen- ter in Marina Del Rey, Calif., helped save actor Harrison Ford's life; not with a surgical procedure, but by pulling him from a crashed air plane, according to a CBS Los Angeles report. Dr. Khurana was on the seventh hole of his golf game when the plane crashed and he quickly responded, along with others, before the emergency respond- ers were able to arrive on the scene. Dr. Khurana used his expertise to stabilize Mr. Ford and minimize damage at the scene while waiting for the emergency responders. A group of people were able to remove Mr. Ford safely from the air plane and Dr. Khurana in- structed others to put dirt on the fuel so it wouldn't combust into a fiery situation, according to the report. Mr. Ford was then taken to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center where he was treated and listed in "fair to moderate" condition. Dr. Khurana is focused on minimally invasive and microscopic spine surgery. He earned his medical degree at Stanford University School of Medicine and previ- ously served as the chief of spine surgery at Permanente Group San Diego. n In-Office Ancillaries Under Attack — 5 Key Points By Laura Dyrda The in-office ancillary services exemption is under attack again, ac- cording to a report from Mondaq. The Department of Health and Human Services hinted at limiting the in-office ancillary services exemption in the Fiscal Year 2016 proposed budget. The changes if adapted would dramatically harm private prac- tice and lead to a great deal of acceleration in hospital employment. Here are five things to know: 1. Physicians are currently able to refer patients to some in-office services, including diagnostic imaging, physician therapy, clinical labs, radiation therapy and supplies under a Stark Law exemption if they adhere to strict guidelines. These guidelines allow a practice to provide the services in their offices if they meet a location, bill- ing, group practice and other tests. 2. Opponents say the in-office ancillary services exemption has caused over-utilization and rapid growth in these services, i.e., that the original purpose of the exception was for doctor and patient convenience and quick turnaround to enhance treatment and that it is now used as a huge money maker and differently than in- tended. 3. HHS argues in the budget proposal that some of these services are rarely provided on the same day as the physician office visit, i.e., they are provided in a manner different than intended. 4. HHS proposed eliminating self-referrals for therapy, advanced imaging, radiation therapy and anatomic pathology services un- less they are at "clinically integrated" practices for cost contain- ment. This change would dramatically harm private practices as many rely on their ancillary income to stave off becoming hospital employees. 5. These changes could save $6 billion over a decade, according to the report. n T he University of California Los Angeles' health system will pi- lot a system that introduces genomic data into its EHR plat- form. The system will be provided by Seattle-based ActX, which already works with Allscripts and Greenway Health. UCLA's Epic system will begin pilot testing with 50 patients' data and plans to expand after initial results re- turn. UCLA Health, which operates four hospitals, plans to begin imple- menting the system over the next few weeks, according to MedCityNews. ActX plans to implement the decision support within UCLA's EHR, which will inform the provider of a patient's genetic disease predisposition and whether a medication or clinical decision affects that. If there may be an ad- verse reaction, a physician will receive an alert when he or she writes a pre- scription, according to the report. The implementation falls in line with the national $215 million Precision Medicine Initiative, which President Barack Obama has launched in attempt to individualize medical treatments. The genomic data initiative is a first step toward complying with that initiative, according to the report. n UCLA to Pilot Inclusion of Genomic Data in EHR By Elizabeth Earl Stay updated on the latest news, trends and business concepts for spine surgeons and practices Sign up today for our Spine Review E-Weekly at www.beckersorthopedicandspine.com SIGN UP TODAY SPINE REVIEW

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