Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/640044
27 ORTHOPEDIC SECTION The American Journal of Orthopedics Names Dr. Bryan Hanypsiak Editor-in-Chief By Anuja Vaidya B ryan Hanypsiak, MD, has been named editor-in-chief of The American Journal of Orthopedics, according to a Riverhead Local report. Dr. Hanypsiak is director of sports medicine at Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead, N.Y. He also practices with PBMC's Krauss Musculoskeletal Institute in Riverhead. He has served as an assistant team physician for professional teams including the Cleveland Browns and Cleveland Cavaliers. He has also served as an attending physician for the sum- mer and winter New York Empire State Games Hockey Tour- nament as well as the World Figure Skating Championships. He completed his sports medicine fellowship at the Cleve- land Clinic. n Rumors of a Stryker Acquisition of Smith & Nephew Swirl Once Again: 6 Key Notes By Anuja Vaidya S tryker set aside around $18 billion for the acquisition of Smith & Nephew, a person with knowledge of the situa- tion has said, according a Street Insider report. Here are six key notes: 1. The inside source also said Goldman Sachs is acting as advisor. 2. Rumors of Stryker trying to acquire Smith & Nephew have been circling for years. 3. In 2014, there were talks between the two, but Stryker withdrew after it became known that Medtronic was inter- ested. However, Medtronic eventually acquired Smith & Nephew competitor Covidien. 4. In the company's 2015 third quarter conference call, Stryker CEO Kevin Lobo said merger and acquisition activity is difficult to predict in terms of timing, however, it remains a priority for the company. 5. Stryker's net sales were $2.4 billion in the third quarter of 2015, a 1.3 percent increase from the same period the year before. The net sales were negatively impacted by 4.6 per- cent due to the impact of foreign currency exchange rates. 6. The orthopedic net sales reached $1 billion, up 0.3 per- cent over the same period last year. n Key Thoughts on Integration in Orthopedics — Dr. Bert Mandelbaum O n a global scale, healthcare is in a period of integration. Ma- jor medical centers and physi- cian practices are merging and acquiring one another to form larger networks and leverage partnerships going forward. "e integration is a consequence of ev- erything from the narrow networks to bundled payments to a new opportunity at population management with the hos- pital systems," says Bert Mandelbaum, MD, an orthopedic surgeon with Santa Monica (Calif.) Orthopaedic & Sports Medicine Group. "When you look down to the narrow networks and global fees, as well as bundled payments, there are marketing opportunities in a large group which can still enhance the individual physician." But the consolidation has a different impact on physician practices depending on where they're located. For physicians in a large group, such as the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City or Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, there are clear benefits. Surgeons who are part of larger independent physician groups like Rothman Institute in Philadelphia, OrthoIndy or Orth- oCarolina can also benefit from economies of scale. Many of the big networks come in geographical distribution instead of one lo- cal environment. e only practices escaping consolidation are those in small towns and rural areas, but even there physicians are seeking alignment with hos- pitals or other groups. And there are challenges to both practice environments. "Speaking as a physician directly involved with a large medical group and cen- ter, there are challenges for physician leadership in realizing the opportunities in healthcare and developing the right relationships," says Dr. Mandelbaum. "Orthopedic groups want to further enhance and develop physician networks as well as challenge payers in terms of reimbursement levels. ey're also chal- lenging the relationship between quality and payments. Physicians need to find a place for themselves before the music stops." At Kerlan-Jobe, Dr. Mandelbaum is working with his colleagues to find the right balance for expansion. e group is targeting specialists in knee arthro- plasty for future growth, as the procedures are expected to increase six-fold in the next 15 years. "You want to balance your group to meet the demand coming down the pipe," he says. "ere are other challenges with the aging population increasing exponen- tially. ere are changes in the hospital dynamics for distributing patients, and the patients who make up our core base are getting older every day." As the 90-plus year old population grows, their medical costs increase sig- nificantly and there is a growing gap between providing the revenue to pay for their healthcare in the physician community. ere are fewer healthcare dollars in the Medicare budget to spread around, and the response will be decreased Medicare reimbursement. "In response, the government could increase the Medicare beneficiary age minimum, but the action hasn't been taken," says Dr. Mandelbaum. "From an orthopedic surgeon perspective, there is a greater demand for the ability to manage patients but less money in the social security pot." n Dr. Bert Mandelbaum