Findings from Stanford University Medical Center Update Understanding of Managed Care (Cost of Orthopaedic Trauma Surgery Is Weakly Associated With Industry Payments To Surgeons): Managed Care

2025 SEP 22 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Health Policy and Law Daily -- Current study results on Managed Care have been published. According to news reporting from Stanford, California, by NewsRx journalists, research stated, “To examine the relationship between industry payments to surgeons and total cost of orthopaedic trauma surgery. Secondarily, to investigate the relationship between surgeon industry payments and operating room cost, length of stay, 30-day mortality, and 30-day readmission.”

The news correspondents obtained a quote from the research from Stanford University Medical Center, “Design: Retrospective cross-sectional database study with minimum 30-day follow-up. In total, 20% sample of Medicare beneficiaries from January 2006 to December 2015 from the Medicare database. Selection Criteria: Medicare-insured patients undergoing orthopaedic trauma surgery identified by Current Procedural Terminology codes. Measures and Comparisons: The primary outcomes were the risk-adjusted relationship between amount of industry payments to surgeons and the total and operating costs. The secondary outcomes were the risk-adjusted relationships between amount of industry payments to surgeons and hospital length of stay, mortality, and readmission. Overall, 99.9% of orthopaedic trauma surgeons (n = 9023) received industry payments. Median patient age was 82 years (interquartile range: 15), 73.2% women, 91.5% White, and with multiple comorbidities [CCI median (interquartile range) 6 (4)]. After multivariable risk adjustment, for each $1000 increase in surgeon industry payments, total and operating room cost of cases increased by $2.25 and $1.26 (0.003% and 0.008% of total cost), respectively (P < 0.001). The median industry payment was $607.72 compared with the mean of $12,070.84, indicating a highly right-skewed distribution of payments. Amount of industry payments was not associated with length of stay (P = 0.18), 30-day mortality (P = 0.094), or readmission (P = 0.59) after orthopaedic trauma surgery. Total and operating room cost were approximately $8920 (17.8%) and $1481 (14.2%) higher for surgeons receiving the highest 5% of industry payments (P < 0.001). These surgeons generally practiced in large urban areas (51.7%; P< 0.001), in hospitals with higher number of beds (median 398; P< 0.001), with higher wage index (0.96; P< 0.001). Although most orthopaedic trauma surgeons received industry payments, a minority of surgeons received the majority of payments.”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “Although industry payments may lead to conflicts for some surgeons, these conflicts affect only a small proportion of the cost of fracture care.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Cost of Orthopaedic Trauma Surgery Is Weakly Associated With Industry Payments To Surgeons. Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma, 2025;39(9):496-503. Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma can be contacted at: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Two Commerce Sq, 2001 Market St, Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA. (Lippincott Williams and Wilkins - www.lww.com; Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma - http://journals.lww.com/jorthotrauma/pages/default.aspx)

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Harsh Wadhwa, Stanford University Medical Center, Dept. of Orthopedic Surgery, Stanford, CA 94303, United States. Additional authors for this research include Julius A. Bishop, Gavin Touponse, Guan Li and Corinna C. Zygourakis.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1097/bot.0000000000003021. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

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