Erik Makhni

I will be serving as a Washington Health Policy Fellow during the 2013-2014 year, which will be my PGY-IV year of residency in orthopaedic surgery at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City. I view the upcoming year as an opportunity to apply practice management and health care policy principles to the field of orthopaedic surgery, in an effort to focus on optimizing value and efficiency in health care delivery.

I first became interested in healthcare policy while completing my undergraduate degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. I majored in biology but enjoyed taking classes at the Sloan School of Management, where I researched trends of mergers and acquisitions in the pharmaceutical industry. During the summer before my senior year, I participated in the MIT Washington DC Summer Internship Program, interning in President Bush’s Council on Bioethics. I found myself visiting Capitol Hill and attending various congressional hearings on various issues related to health care policy and took an immediate interest in the field.

Following my time at MIT, I matriculated into the combined MD/MBA program at Harvard Medical School and Harvard Business School, undertaking a medical curriculum augmented with a formal business administration component in the MBA. My clinical research focused on the age-related outcomes of distal radius fractures, but this research began to comprise practice-management elements as I progressed through the dual-degree. Currently, as an orthopaedic resident at Columbia, my research has shifted focus towards gaining a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms of injury in the upper extremity of overhead athletes. From a policy perspective, I have also worked on various cost-effectiveness analysis projects under the guidance of Dr. Kevin Bozic. I will be applying for a fellowship in sports medicine next year.

As I look forwards to the AAOS Washington Health Policy Fellowship, I hope to undertake projects that focus on improving the efficiency of healthcare delivery within orthopaedic surgery. This includes the effective utilization of outpatient care centers, as well as care delivered within the confines of major hospital networks.

Selected publications:

Cadet ER, Makhni EC, Mehran N, Schulz BM. Management of Septic Arthritis Following Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction: a Review of Current Practices and Recommendations. J Amer Acad Orthop Surg, in press, accepted December 2012.

Makhni EC, Li R, Day CS. Workers Compensation: how do orthopaedic surgeons fare? Am J Orthop. 2011, May: 40(5)E71-7.

Day CS, Makhni EC, Mejia E, Lage D, Rozental TD. Effects of age, gender, and socio-economic status on the management of carpal and cubital tunnel syndromes. Clin Orthop Rel Res. 2010, 468 (7):1796-803.

Makhni EC, Taghinia A, Ewald T, Zurakoski D, Day CS. Comminution of the dorsal metaphysis and its effects on the radiographic outcomes of distal radius fractures. J Hand Surg (E). 2010, March 17.

Day CS and Makhni EC. Web commentary on ‘Distal radius fracture treatment: what you get may depend on your age and address, by Fanuele J, Koval K, Lurie J, et al.’ J Bone Joint Surg. June, 2009, online (http://www.ejbjs.org/Comments/2009/cp_jun09_day.dtl)

Makhni EC, Ewald T, Kelly S, Day CS. The effect of patient age on the radiographic outcomes of distal radius fractures undergoing non-operative treatment. J Hand Surg (Am), 2008, 33: 1301-8.

Rozental T, Makhni EC, Day CS, Bouxsein M. Screening and treatment for osteoporosis following fractures of the distal radius. J Bone Joint Surg, 2008, 90:953-961.

Synn A, Makhni EC, Makhni M, Rozental T, Day CS. Distal radius fractures in older patients: is anatomic reduction necessary? Clin Orthop Rel Res, Dec. 2008.