title: Patient perception of physician reimbursement in elective shoulder surgery.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A previous study revealed that patients perceived physician reimbursement to be much higher than current Medicare schedules for hip and knee replacement. The purpose of this study was to evaluate patient perception of surgeon reimbursement for total shoulder replacement (TSA) and rotator cuff repair (RCR).
  
  
  METHODS
  The study surveyed 250 patients. Patients were asked what they believe a surgeon should be reimbursed for performing TSA and RCR. Patients were then asked to estimate what Medicare reimbursed for each of these procedures. We then revealed the Medicare reimbursement rate for TSA and RCR, and patients were asked to comment. Finally, patients were asked whether surgeons with advanced shoulder training should receive additional payments.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients thought that surgeons should receive $13,178 for TSA and $8459 for RCR. Patients estimated actual Medicare reimbursement was $7177 for TSA and $4692 for RCR. Eighty percent of patients stated that Medicare reimbursement was too low for TSA, 75% thought that payment for RCR was lower than what it should be. Less than 1% of patients felt that it was higher than it should be. A total of 87% of patients thought that surgeons with advanced shoulder training should be reimbursed at a higher rate.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients perceived the values of TSA and RCR were much higher than current Medicare schedules. This is in agreement with prior surveys. Continued decreases in Medicare reimbursements may force surgeons to not participate in Medicare and create a potential access issue. Further investigation should focus on identifying how many surgeons may opt out.
authors.affiliation: Anderson Orthopaedic Clinic, Arlington, VA, USA. Electronic address: sameer.nagda@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Sameer
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nagda
authors.affiliation: Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, DC, USA.
authors.forename: Brent
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wiesel
authors.affiliation: Rothman Institute, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Abboud
authors.affiliation: Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Salamone
authors.affiliation: Clinical Practices of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Neil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sheth
authors.affiliation: Panorama Orthopedics, Golden, CO, USA.
authors.forename: Jared
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Foran
authors.affiliation: Anderson Orthopaedic Clinic, Arlington, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Johnny
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Garstka
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D019643:Arthroplasty, Replacement / Q000191:economics*; D001182:Arthroscopy / Q000191:economics*; D017558:Elective Surgical Procedures / Q000191:economics*; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007349:Insurance, Health, Reimbursement; D008297:Male; D006278:Medicare / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D017006:Rotator Cuff / Q000601:surgery*; D012785:Shoulder Joint / Q000601:surgery*; D020069:Shoulder Pain / Q000601:surgery*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Reimbursement; replacement; rotator cuff; shoulder; surgery