AAOS Quality Efforts Continue

Mary Ann Porucznik

During its June 12–13, 2015, meeting, the AAOS board of directors took the following actions that support and extend quality and advocacy efforts on behalf of orthopaedic surgeons...

Ten Barriers to Meeting the Quality Challenge

Terry Stanton

Reducing variations in practice and doing more for less are among the challenges facing orthopaedic surgeons in their efforts to maintain timely, effective care for their patients. However, according to David S. Jevsevar, MD, MBA, of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, several “barriers to change” in the United States are hindering efforts to improve quality. Dr.

Decreasing Infection Rates in Tumor Treatment

Jay D. Lenn

Following endoprosthetic limb reconstruction to treat tumors, the rate of surgical site infections (SSIs) ranges from 10 percent to 15 percent—quite high compared with a rate of less than 1 percent in total joint replacement. Also, unlike joint replacement, no evidence-based clinical guideline has been developed for prophylactic antibiotic treatment to prevent such infections.

The Orthopaedic Device Forum: Fostering Interaction Among Device Stakeholders

William M. Mihalko, MD

Most AAOS fellows may not be aware of the regulatory pathways and the entangled web of guidelines, standards, and bureaucracy that the devices we use every day to treat patients must traverse as they pass from the drawing board and into our hands. The process often starts with a novel idea or a basic science innovation that is tested in the laboratory and then translated from the bench to the bedside.