Orthopaedic trauma and the evolution of healthcare policy in America

Healthcare policy has changed drastically, and with the 50-year anniversary of the passage of Medicare approaching in 2015, the authors evaluate the development of the current healthcare system and its relationship to the development of modern orthopaedic trauma. With more changes in healthcare policy forthcoming, it is increasingly important for the orthopaedic traumatologist to understand how changes in policy will affect practice. Historically, the motivators for change have remained largely the same over the past 50 years. The development of diagnosis-related groups, the resource-based relative value scale, and the sustainable growth rate are 3 defining policies that were designed to control costs, but which had an unexpected effect on those caring for the trauma population. Healthcare reform has a unique effect on those systems where care is dictated by a defining event or injury. Evaluating the development of trauma systems, the authors find that legislation directed toward the trauma population has been driven by the study of patient outcomes, providing an opportunity for orthopaedic traumatologists to contribute to future changes in policy. As healthcare policy changes begin to take effect, having a thorough understanding of reform and its drivers will be increasingly important in taking an active role in advocating for the field of orthopaedic trauma and its patients.