CMS’s New Patient Rating System Fails Smell Test

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Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is one of the most reliable procedures in all of orthopedics. Patients walk better, hurt less, and — most of the time — send thank-you cards instead of complaint letters. Satisfaction rates routinely exceed 80%.

So, imagine the collective eyebrow raise when the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) declared that a 20-point improvement in KOOS-JR (Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score for Joint Replacement) is the benchmark for “substantial clinical benefit” (SCB).