WARSAW, Ind., March 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ Zimmer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE and SIX: ZMH), a leader in musculoskeletal care, today announced that presentations by its Global Market Access group were among the highlights of the Company's presence at the 77th annual American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) meeting in New Orleans.
Today's health care environment places growing pressures on surgeons and hospitals to provide care while also exercising fiscal restraint. Zimmer's presentations provided an opportunity for informed dialogue among orthopaedic physicians and administrators with the goal of better understanding the trends shaping health economics today.
"We see a demonstrated increase in demand for total hip and total knee arthroplasty procedures, and this is expected to continue," said Cheryl R. Blanchard, Ph.D, Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer at Zimmer. "Zimmer is committed to helping guide our customers through an increasingly expansive and intricate market by providing comprehensive data describing the costs and benefits of orthopaedic surgery."
Total joint replacement is the most frequently performed procedure for advanced osteoarthritis of the hip and knee, yet there is a dearth of research investigating the direct costs, both orthopaedic and non-orthopaedic, for the procedures. While total hip arthroplasty (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA) procedures are widely considered among the most cost effective surgical interventions in the field of medicine, reliable and objective quantification of their economic characteristics has been lacking. At the AAOS meeting, Zimmer's Global Market Access group presented "Cost of Illness Models for Primary TKA and THA Procedures in the United States," the first comprehensive analysis of the total costs of total joint replacement drawn from both Medicare and commercial payer data. This podium presentation has been selected as Best in Category by the AAOS committee for Practice Management and Rehabilitation.
The group also presented "Trends in Commercial Insurance Payments to Hospitals and Physicians for TKA and THA Procedures." Orthopaedic practices remain significant revenue drivers at hospitals, and this analysis provides comprehensive data which tracks the divergence in reimbursement rates over the past decade. Both presentations were led by Ryan M. Graver, Director, Global Market Access and Health Economics at Zimmer.
About the Company
Founded in 1927 and headquartered in Warsaw, Indiana, Zimmer designs, develops, manufactures and markets orthopaedic reconstructive, spinal and trauma devices, dental implants, and related surgical products. Zimmer has operations in more than 25 countries around the world and sells products in more than 100 countries. Zimmer's 2009 sales were approximately $4.1 billion. The Company is supported by the efforts of more than 8,000 employees worldwide.
For more information about Zimmer, visit www.zimmer.com
Zimmer Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about the orthopaedics industry, management's beliefs and assumptions made by management. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking terms such as "may," "will," "expects," "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "estimates," "projects," "assumes," "guides," "targets," "forecasts," and "seeks" or the negative of such terms or other variations on such terms or comparable terminology. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially. For a list and description of such risks and uncertainties, see our periodic reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. We disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be set forth in our periodic reports. Readers of this document are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, since, while we believe the assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, there can be no assurance that these forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate. This cautionary statement is applicable to all forward-looking statements contained in this document.
SOURCE Zimmer Holdings, Inc.
