35
PRACTICE
MANAGEMENT
the first orthopedic groups in the nation to
offer patients these kinds of bundled pay-
ments. e practice offers the program for
the following five procedures:
• ACL repair: $10,800
• Hip arthroscopy: $13,250
• Knee arthroscopy: $5,000
• Rotator cuff repair: $11,300
• Shoulder arthroscopy: $10,000
15. Charlotte, N.C.-based OrthoCarolina
published an article in the New England Jour-
nal of Medicine Catalyst detailing its process
for creating a physician-owned bundled pay-
ment. e group was able to lower costs by 10
percent to 30 percent as well as improve out-
comes for hip and knee replacement surgery.
5
16. Two hospital surveys released last month
found the majority of hospitals polled are
not ready for CMS' Comprehensive Care for
Joint Replacement reimbursement model.
A FORCE-TJR survey found 56 percent of
hospital orthopedics programs report being
unprepared for CJR. Avalere Health's survey
results indicated 60 percent of the hospitals
required to participate in CJR could lose
money in the bundled payment model when
downside risk begins in January 2017.
17. Half of all physicians, 78 percent of hospitals
and 80 percent of payers find bundled payments
appealing, according to a booz&co infograph-
ic on Stragety+Business. Additionally, more
than 80 percent of hospitals with bundle expe-
rience have improved patient engagement, in-
creased alignment with physicians and further
reduced administrative costs.
Miscellaneous
18. Zimmer Biomet recently launched a suite
of clinical services and technologies that es-
pecially targets orthopedic providers who
are part of the CJR program. e suite, Sig-
nature Solutions, integrates into the estab-
lished Zimmer Biomet consulting platform.
e core components include interactive pa-
tient engagement tools for patient education,
communication and adherence to protocols
as well as data mining and analysis platform
to collect patient-reported outcomes, among
other services.
19. Stryker Performance Solutions, the busi-
ness unit of Stryker's Reconstructive Division,
partners with hospitals and physician practic-
es to help improve healthcare quality, patient
satisfaction and profitability. It offers a new
digital tool called Episode Performance Man-
ager, which translates raw claims data from
CMS into reports. e reports compare the
performance of hospitals participating in
CMS' CJR model. n
References:
1
AAOS Academy News
2
AAOS letter
3
International Journal of Spine Surgery study
4
Spine study
5
New England Journal of Medicine Cata-
lyst article
Dr. Gregory Sherr Sues HealthEast, CentraCare & 6 Neurosurgeons
for Allegedly Ruining His Reputation & Career
By Megan Wood
N
eurosurgeon Gregory Sherr, MD, is suing Heal-
thEast Care System, CentraCare Health and six
affiliated physicians for an alleged "pattern of
anti-competitive, tortious and otherwise illegal conduct."
Both healthcare systems are based in St. Cloud, Minn.
Here are six things to know:
1. Dr. Sherr brought suit against the two health systems and
six physicians in Federal District Court on Sept. 15.
2. Dr. Sherr served as Saint Cloud Hospital's neurosur-
gery department chair until early 2015. CentraCare wholly
owns Saint Cloud Hospital. He resigned from Saint Cloud
Hospital and joined Midwest Spine and Brain Institute in
Stillwater, Minn.
3. Dr. Sherr and Midwest Spine and Brain Institute opened
a neurosurgery clinic within blocks of Saint Cloud Hospital.
In addition, Dr. Sherr received privileges at a few Health-
East hospitals.
4. Following these actions, Dr. Sherr alleges six neurosur-
geons affiliated with the two health systems colluded to
bring unfounded complaints against him in the HealthEast
"Peer Review" process. Dr. Sherr argues this occurred be-
cause he was a competitive threat to the hospitals' in-house
neurosurgeons.
5. The complaint alleges these "baseless complaints" re-
sulted in the HealthEast committee suspending his privi-
leges for violating HealthEast Bylaws. As a result of this sus-
pension, Dr. Sherr alleges his reputation and career were
ruined and he had to resign from Midwest Spine and Brain
Institute and relocate to Florida.
6. Schaefer Halleen law firm is representing Dr. Sherr in the
suit, and commented the case will be "groundbreaking," as
they plan to reveal anti-competitive collusion among the
neurosurgeons at two large Minnesota health systems.
"My intent was to develop, with MSBI's support, a state-
of-the art neurosurgery approach to treating difficult
cranial and spine cases. To have this dream destroyed,
and to deprive Minnesota citizens of this resource, sim-
ply because I was a competitive threat to in-house neu-
rosurgeons, is a tragedy for complex medical care in this
state," said Dr. Sherr. n
