{"id":238,"date":"2016-09-05T07:13:55","date_gmt":"2016-09-05T11:13:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.orthopaediclist.com\/blog\/?p=238"},"modified":"2016-09-05T07:17:37","modified_gmt":"2016-09-05T11:17:37","slug":"the-looming-total-joint-replacement-surgeon-shortage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.orthopaediclist.com\/blog\/the-looming-total-joint-replacement-surgeon-shortage\/","title":{"rendered":"The Looming Total Joint Replacement Surgeon Shortage"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Scott S. Kelley, MD<\/h3>\n

Tuesday, November 17th, 2009<\/small><\/p>\n

\n

The difference between a good total joint and a great total joint replacement is initially small, but over time the difference can be significant.\u00a0 A good total joint might last 10 years, but a great total joint could last 30 years.\u00a0 Being a total joint surgeon is a profession with little or no room for error\u00a0with\u00a0every single hand movement. The procedures are demanding and the patient population is complex.<\/p>\n

Now, imagine this: The number of total joint replacement surgeons in the\u00a0United States\u00a0is cut by over 40 percent. The patient\u2019s option for a surgeon is limited due to demographic or insurance restrictions.\u00a0 This becomes a significant\u00a0problem if the joint replacement fails because the subsequent surgery is much more complicated;\u00a0therefore,\u00a0fewer surgeons are willing to manage the revision.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, this could be the future of total joint replacement surgeons in\u00a0America. Orthopaedic residents generally are not going into joint replacement fellowships because of this very issue.\u00a0 We are 50% filled at best, during a time when we need to be increasing in size. Nationally there is a huge number of impending failures looming. Given the current state of our country, this issue is only going to get worse within the next 5-10 years.<\/p>\n

The reimbursement for a single joint replacement surgery has been cut by over 65% in the last ten years. \u00a0This isn\u2019t an issue for most surgeons currently in practice; however it does limit the amount of resources they can offer patients.\u00a0\u00a0For example, try calling a doctor\u2019s office and getting an actual person on the phone; these cuts affect everything from the number of front desk employees to the quality of care the surgeon is able to provide.<\/p>\n

Cuts of over 65% in 10 years are now being followed with further cuts.\u00a0 Understandably this makes doctors in training nervous.\u00a0 Performing this surgery is stressful and I\u2019m afraid it just isn\u2019t worth it for younger doctors considering a specialty surgery career, particularly\u00a0in joint replacement.<\/p>\n

While prevention and patient education remains a goal of all healthcare providers, it does not overshadow the current epidemic that is facing our society with respect to osteoarthritis and its surgical treatment options: the reality is that patients will continue to want the best in surgical care from the best providers.<\/p>\n

Please click on the following to see a video entitled \u201cAccess Denied:\u00a0 The Approaching Shortage of Specialist Doctors<\/a>\u201d and use it\u00a0to educate your patients on the future of specialized care.\u00a0\u00a0Although it\u2019s a bit biased, it does clearly state the facts.<\/p>\n

Dr. Kelley, a third generation surgeon,\u00a0is a graduate of the University of Iowa School of Medicine.\u00a0\u00a0He performed his orthopaedic residency at the Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse, NY and his fellowship in Adult Hip and Knee Reconstruction at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN.\u00a0\u00a0He is a founder of the\u00a0North Carolina Orthopaedic Clinic<\/a>\u00a0in Durham, NC, an affiliate of the Duke Medical Center where he is a Clinical Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery.\u00a0\u00a0He has authored numerous scientific papers, serves as editor of medical journals, and is a member of a number of prestigious medical organizations.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Scott S. Kelley, MD Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 The difference between a good total joint and a great total joint replacement is initially small, but over time the difference can be significant.\u00a0 A good total joint might last 10 years, but a great total joint could last 30 years.\u00a0 Being a total joint surgeon […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Looming Total Joint Replacement Surgeon Shortage - OrthopaedicLIST.com Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.orthopaediclist.com\/blog\/the-looming-total-joint-replacement-surgeon-shortage\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Looming Total Joint Replacement Surgeon Shortage - OrthopaedicLIST.com Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"by Scott S. Kelley, MD Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 The difference between a good total joint and a great total joint replacement is initially small, but over time the difference can be significant.\u00a0 A good total joint might last 10 years, but a great total joint could last 30 years.\u00a0 Being a total joint surgeon […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.orthopaediclist.com\/blog\/the-looming-total-joint-replacement-surgeon-shortage\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"OrthopaedicLIST.com Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-09-05T11:13:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-09-05T11:17:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"James Hundley, MD\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"James Hundley, MD\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.orthopaediclist.com\/blog\/the-looming-total-joint-replacement-surgeon-shortage\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.orthopaediclist.com\/blog\/the-looming-total-joint-replacement-surgeon-shortage\/\",\"name\":\"The Looming Total Joint Replacement Surgeon Shortage - OrthopaedicLIST.com Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.orthopaediclist.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-09-05T11:13:55+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-09-05T11:17:37+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.orthopaediclist.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/87a719b32f490b91a2f4a6a44d4d6752\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.orthopaediclist.com\/blog\/the-looming-total-joint-replacement-surgeon-shortage\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.orthopaediclist.com\/blog\/the-looming-total-joint-replacement-surgeon-shortage\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.orthopaediclist.com\/blog\/the-looming-total-joint-replacement-surgeon-shortage\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.orthopaediclist.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Looming Total Joint Replacement Surgeon Shortage\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.orthopaediclist.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.orthopaediclist.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"OrthopaedicLIST.com Blog\",\"description\":\"News About Orthopaedic Surgery and Orthopaedic Products and Services\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.orthopaediclist.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.orthopaediclist.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/87a719b32f490b91a2f4a6a44d4d6752\",\"name\":\"James Hundley, MD\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.orthopaediclist.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/210425b5d38259409c4acb9bbb1e31bf?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/210425b5d38259409c4acb9bbb1e31bf?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"James Hundley, MD\"},\"description\":\"Dr. Hundley is a retired orthopaedic surgeon and the originator and co-founder of OrthopaedicLIST.com, a resource website for orthopaedic surgeons and related professionals.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.orthopaediclist.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.orthopaediclist.com\/blog\/author\/hundleysr\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Looming Total Joint Replacement Surgeon Shortage - OrthopaedicLIST.com Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.orthopaediclist.com\/blog\/the-looming-total-joint-replacement-surgeon-shortage\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Looming Total Joint Replacement Surgeon Shortage - OrthopaedicLIST.com Blog","og_description":"by Scott S. 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