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57 HEALTHCARE NEWS Study: Medicare Total Knee Replacements can be Safely Discharged Within 24 Hours By Laura Dyrda A new study published in the Journal of Arthroplasty exam- ined the safety of rapid discharge for Medicare-eligible patients after total knee replacement. The study authors examined 2,287 patients who underwent total knee replacement from Jan. 1, 2013 to Dec. 31, 2015. All patients were 65 years old or older and 1,502 were discharged within one day of surgery. The study authors found: 1. Short-stay patients and those who spent two or more days at the hospital following total knee replacement had similar 30 day read- mission rates; the short-stay patients reported 1.1 percent read- mission rate, compared to 2.7 percent of traditional-stay patients. 2. Unplanned 90-day readmissions were higher among the traditional-stay patients, 3.6 percent, compared with the short- stay patients, 1.7 percent. However, the study notes the short stay patients had favorable demographics when compared with the traditional-stay group. 3. None of the demographic factors studied had an impact on 30-day readmission rates for either group. However, age had an impact on 90-day readmissions in the short-stay group. 4. Study authors concluded, "Our results suggest that the Medi- care patients meeting discharge criteria and discharge home within a day of TKA do not have an increased risk of 30-day and 90-day readmission." n Ohio Hospital Closed Indefinitely After Fire By Ayla Ellison Summa St. Thomas Hospital in Akron, Ohio, remains closed after a fire broke out in the facility's basement Friday morning. The fire forced the hospital to evacuate patients and staff. About 100 patients were transferred to other local hospitals, including other Summa facilities and Western Reserve Hospital in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, according to cleveland.com. A firm reopening date for Summa St. Thomas Hospital has not been set, Mike Bernstein, Summa's director of corporate communi- cations, told cleveland.com. He said patients who would normally be treated at St. Thomas Hospital can go to Summa's other local hospitals for care. He said certain workers have been temporarily transferred to admitting locations to assist. "We're fortunate to have the capacity across the system for a situa- tion like this," Mr. Bernstein told cleveland.com. n Inside Sources Say Apple Pursued Talks to Buy Medical Clinics By Alyssa Rege A pple was reportedly in talks to purchase Aliso Viejo, Calif.-based Crossover Health, a healthcare startup that works with self-insured employers to provide medical and wellness services at onsite clinics. e move heightens speculation about the tech giant's potential foray into the healthcare space, multiple sources familiar with the matter told CNBC. Negotiations between the two organizations reportedly lasted "months" but did not end in a deal, according to one source. Two other sources claimed Apple also ap- proached San Francisco-based One Medical, a concierge medicine primary care organization, the report states. Sources told CNBC Apple's health team has discussed ex- panding into the primary care sector for more than a year. However, it is unclear if the company aims to build its own network of primary care clinics, similar to the format of its retail stores, or whether it would partner with existing medical organizations. Apple CEO Tim Cook has also publicly expressed inter- est in the numerous business opportunities the healthcare sector may provide. In a September interview with For- tune, Mr. Cook said, "ere's much more in the health area. ere's a lot of stuff I can't tell you about that [Apple is] working on, some of which it's clear there's a commer- cial business there … I do think it's a big area for Apple's future." In conjunction with Mr. Cook's sentiments, Apple has hired "dozens" of health consultants and medical experts in recent years, including Sumbul Desai, MD, the former executive director of the Stanford (Calif.) Medicine Center for Digital Health. e company reportedly hired Dr. Desai in June to a senior position to promote the various health uses for its Apple Watch. e tech giant has partnered with researchers at Stanford to improve its digital health soware and make the iPhone "the central repository for patient health information," the report states. e company also previously released two soware tools — Apple's HealthKit and ResearchKit — to share patients' health information with third-party devel- opers and recruit patients for clinical studies, respectively. Richard V. Milani, MD, chief clinical transformation officer and vice chairman for the department of cardi- ology at Jefferson, La.-based Ochsner Health System, told CNBC Apple's foray into the healthcare space may prove to be incredibly beneficial for the industry. "Such a move wouldn't surprise me as Apple has demon- strated that its interest in healthcare isn't superficial," said Dr. Milani. "Primary care is in great need of re-imagining and rethinking." n

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