Publications by authors named "J Brinkman"
Purpose: To compare Medicaid and Medicare rates for the 20 most commonly billed orthopaedic sports medicine procedures.
Methods: Medicaid reimbursement rates were obtained from state-specific fee schedules. Medicare rates were collected from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Physician Fee Schedule, along with relative value units for each procedure.
Trends in Medicare Utilization and Reimbursement for Intertrochanteric Femur Fractures: A 21-Year Review.
Eur J Orthop Surg Traumatol
November 2024
Article Synopsis
- The study analyzed trends in the economic and utilization of sliding hip screws (SHS) and intramedullary nails (IMN) for treating intertrochanteric femur fractures among Medicare patients over 21 years.
- It found that the use of IMN significantly increased by 695%, while SHS use dropped by 96% during the same period.
- Furthermore, physician reimbursements for both methods decreased, with SHS averaging $943.36 and IMN $999.88, indicating a possible cost-effectiveness in choosing SHS when suitable.
Article Synopsis
- A study aimed to investigate the link between testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) and the risk of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries using a large insurance database.
- Researchers matched 160,839 patients on TRT for at least 3 months with controls who weren't on TRT, finding a significantly higher ACL injury rate in the TRT group (17.8 per 10,000 person-years) compared to controls (4.9 per 10,000 person-years).
- The results showed all age groups over 25 and both males and females on TRT had a higher likelihood of ACL injuries, with males being 3.13 times and females 1.94 times more likely compared to their counterparts.
Purpose: To assess surgeon reimbursement for common arthroscopic procedures, including arthroscopic meniscal debridement and arthroscopic rotator cuff repair, in patients with differing risk profiles within the Medicare population.
Methods: A publicly available Medicare database was used to identify all cases of arthroscopic meniscal debridement and arthroscopic rotator cuff repair procedures billed to Medicare from 2013 to 2020. The surgeon reimbursement from Medicare was collected and adjusted for inflation.
Article Synopsis
- Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is common in asthma patients, and the duration of asthma may increase the risk of developing OSA, indicating a possible link between the two conditions.
- Researchers studied the breathing responses to low oxygen levels in rats with asthma (sensitized with ovalbumin) and compared them to control rats (saline), finding that those with asthma had heightened responses due to increased breathing frequency.
- The study concluded that asthma-related inflammation, rather than mechanical issues in the lungs, may enhance breathing control mechanisms, potentially contributing to the ventilatory instability that could lead to sleep apnea in humans.