AAHKS-AOC Survey Results

AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM RAFAEL SIERRA, MD

Thanks to All Who Participated in the AAHKS-AOC Survey

We are deeply grateful to the institutions, practice groups, and individuals who contributed to this important survey examining the potential effects of proposed Medicare reimbursement reductions for hip and knee replacement.

Your participation provided essential insight into how these changes could affect patient access, faculty recruitment and retention, clinical demands, surgical education, and research at academic medical centers.

The proposed reductions in Medicare reimbursement for hip and knee replacement are substantial and raise important questions about the future of patient access to musculoskeletal care. That concern extends beyond the immediate impact on surgical practices to the potential downstream effects on academic medical centers, which disproportionately care for complex and often lower-margin patients.

In this survey, more than 90% of academic medical centers expressed significant concern about the increasing concentration of complex care at these institutions, challenges in faculty recruitment and retention, growing pressure to increase clinical volume, and the resulting erosion of time available for teaching and research.

These consequences deserve particular attention because academic medical centers are not only referral centers for our most complex patients, but they are also where the next generation of hip and knee surgeons is trained. Protecting access therefore requires considering not only how payment policy affects care today, but also its potential impact on the workforce and academic infrastructure required to provide that care in the future.

Sharing the Survey Analysis

As promised, the Chairs of the Departments represented by the participating institutions and practice groups listed below will receive the analysis associated with this survey. Mike Gagnon will email the analysis directly to each Chair.

Thank you again for contributing your experience and perspective to this timely and consequential work.