AAOS Now

Published 10/23/2024

OrthoInfo QR Codes: An Easy Way to Share Patient Education

Good musculoskeletal patient education is hard to find, but AAOS has it covered with OrthoInfo, which features more than 450 pieces of content across all orthopaedic subspecialties, developed and updated regularly by orthopaedic specialists.

By providing trustworthy and unbiased educational resources, OrthoInfo is designed to facilitate more meaningful discussions between orthopaedic surgeons and patients.

Given the breadth and reliability of OrthoInfo, it is not surprising that more than 2 million people visit the website each month, or that so many physicians and providers worldwide have made OrthoInfo their go-to for patient education, disseminating the content to patients by printing or linking to it.

Now, there is another way to conveniently direct patients to the musculoskeletal information they need.

Introducing the OrthoInfo QR code page
AAOS has developed 21 specialty-specific QR codes—each taking users to a curated page of alphabetized content links. For instance, the “Shoulder Content” landing page includes links to all of OrthoInfo’s shoulder condition articles, and the “Shoulder Treatment” landing page features links to all of the articles about nonsurgical and surgical shoulder treatment.

Once patients reach the landing page, they can easily find the specific content their physicians “prescribed” to them within the alphabetical list.

Using OrthoInfo QR codes
Members can add the QR codes to:

  • print materials (e.g., handouts, tabletop signs, posters)
  • back of business cards
  • discharge instructions
  • email signatures
  • practice websites

“These QR codes are the next generation of patient education. Our patients want and need information that is accurate but also easy to access. Now, we have the option of making the information patients need to make informed decisions immediately available on their cellphone,” said
Quin Throckmorton, MD, FAAOS, who is editor-in-chief of OrthoInfo. “And the QR codes are very easy for clinic staff to distribute and display in multiple ways.”

Visit aaos.org/OrthoInfoQRCodes to download the QR codes and start exploring OrthoInfo.

If you are interested in licensing OrthoInfo for your hospital or practice, which gives you the ability to co-brand the content and host it directly on your website, email Jeff Hanwell at hanwell@aaos.org.