The Future of Orthopaedics in the United States: An Analysis of the Effects of Managed Care in the Face of an Excess Supply of Orthopaedic Surgeons

Recent technological advances in orthopaedic surgery have propelled both the volume of surgical cases and their complexity, resulting in increased costs, which should naturally result in higher incomes for surgeons. However, the transition from a fee-for-service model of physician compensation to a managed care model has resulted in major shifts in economic resource allocation. An economic model of this market based on imperfect competition shows that these changes have shifted market power from surgeons to the managed care organizations. Our model predicts that practicing surgeons will retire earlier, medical students will begin to select other specialties, and innovation will be slowed. Antitrust laws limit surgeons' ability to combat this trend through meaningful collective bargaining, creating the potential for future shortages as the baby boom generation reaches retirement age and the demand for orthopaedic services increases dramatically.