Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/571000
54 HEALTHCARE REFORM 5 Key Notes on Medicare Charges for Cervical Spine Surgery By Laura Dyrda A new study published in Spine examines how hospital characteristics impact Medicare charges and payments for cervical spine sur- gery. e researchers identified hospital characteris- tics and patient population characteristics with excess charges and examined the cost-to-charge ratio for Medicare patients undergoing cervical spinal fusion. e researchers found: 1. e average excess charge was $59,799, with inter- quartile range at $41,668 and $69,576. 2. e cost-to-charge ratio was 25.8 percent with the interquartile range at 20.4 percent and 32.7 percent. 3. Urban hospitals have had higher excess charges. ere was also an association between excess charges and procedure volume, and proportion of patients with one or more comorbid conditions. 4. ere weren't any differences based on hospital size, ownership, teaching status, geographical region or pro- portion of female or non-white patients. 5. e private hospitals had a higher cost-to-charge ratio than government hospitals. "e relationship between hospital charges and pay- ments for cervical spine surgery without complications is associated with certain hospital and patient population characteristics," concluded the study authors. n 7 Takeaways From Epic's Annual Meeting — and Why Judy Faulkner Was Dressed as Lucille Ball By Akanksha Jayanthi E pic Systems' annual users' group meeting kicked off at its Verona, Wis., campus, with founder and CEO Judy Faulkner delivering the executive ad- dress the next day. In her address, Ms. Faulkner discussed interoperability for the greater good, the potential of big data and cyberattack liability, all while dressed as Lucille Ball. Here are seven things to know about Epic's annual meeting and Ms. Faulkner's executive address. 1. More than 18,000 healthcare executives and Epic em- ployees are attended this year's meeting, with representa- tives from 11 countries, according to Madison.com. is was the 36th annual meeting. 2. According to Ms. Faulkner, in the past year, Epic's customers prevented 219,000 harmful or fatal medication incidents and delivered 860,000 babies. Customers ex- changed 18 million records in July alone. 3. Epic is developing Cosmos Research Network, where clients can pool unidentified patient data and leverage combined experience and insight to make better care deci- sions, according to the report. "Each of you alone has big data. But if we put our data together, then it's huge data," Ms. Faulkner said. 4. Ms. Faulkner made no mention of the Department of Defense contract that was awarded to Cerner in late July, nor did she discuss the contract Epic won with Systems Made Simple to develop a new patient scheduling system for the Department of Veterans Affairs. e less publicized contract is worth five years and $624 million. 5. Ms. Faulkner did discuss efforts surrounding cybersecu- rity liability in Congress. She said Epic is talking with Con- gress about limiting liability in the event of a cyberattack. "If you are cyberattacked, you should be seen as a victim, not a villain," she said. 6. Overall, Ms. Faulkner upheld the idea of supporting col- laboration over competition, "to improve life for human- kind," according to the report. 7. e theme of this year's user meeting was "A Classic Episode," and Ms. Faulkner's presentation included clips from TV shows like "I Love Lucy" throughout her presen- tation. In her trend of dressing up for the executive address to match the theme of the meeting, Ms. Faulkner donned a Lucille Ball costume, quoting the comedian as saying, "I'm not funny; what I am is brave," according to the report. n