Another view of physician-owned companies

The article “Psst! Have I got a deal for you!” by Stephen J. Immelt, JD, is biased, inaccurate, and offensive. Starting with the title, the reader is made to believe that physician-owned distribution companies are nothing but sham operations. Our certainty that this assessment is unfounded is based on our own experience and legal review. We developed our distribution model under the oversight of the largest law firm in the United States dedicated exclusively to health care.

AAOS Annual Meeting draws international crowd

Dallas Ann Tomlin

It’s the meeting of choice for orthopaedic surgeons from around the world Attending a meeting outside your home country takes planning, resources, and commitment. Although the location may be exotic, the trip requires attention to myriad details—from passports to time changes to language. Deciding to attend means the meeting must be attractive on several levels—from the education to the collegiality.

AAOS salutes unsung heroes

Frank B. Kelly, MD

Nominations encouraged for 2010 art exhibit, journalism awards I had the privilege of meeting an extraordinary young man, Sgt. Evan Cole, during the National Orthopaedic Leadership Conference in May 2009. A casualty of the ongoing Middle East conflict, Sgt. Cole is one of the many wounded and recovering soldiers coping with the daily reminders of war. Severely injured in Iraq, he has undergone more than 20 surgeries to restore mobility and function to his extremities.

Pat on the back…

2009–2010 officers and directors of the American Society for Surgery of the Hand: Robert M. Szabo, MD, president; Thomas E. Trumble, MD, president-elect; W.P. Andrew Lee, MD, vice-president; Arnold-Peter C. Weiss, MD, treasurer; L. Andrew Koman, MD, immediate past president; Edward Akelman, MD, education division director; Daniel J. Nagle, MD, practice division director; James Chang, MD, research division director; Martin I. Boyer, MD, A. Bobby Chhabra, MD, L. Scott Levin, MD, William H.

Let’s get real about tort reform

Although you may not want to, you have to give the guy credit. When President Barack Obama addressed the joint session of Congress on healthcare reform in September, he certainly did a good job of outlining what he wanted to see in a proposal. Ever since then, people have been talking about one aspect or another of it. The issue I want to talk about is tort reform. Joseph D.

Orthopaedist blasts into space

Jennie McKee

Robert L. Satcher Jr., MD, PhD, will travel to the International Space Station Four decades after watching the grainy television images of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landing on the moon, Robert L. Satcher Jr., MD, PhD, will go where no orthopaedic surgeon has gone before: outer space. In November, he will fulfill his life-long dream of space travel as one of six crew members on a mission to the International Space Station.

Medicine on the radio

Peter Pollack

Orthopaedic surgeon takes to the airwaves “If I sit in my clinic and talk to a person one-on-one, that’s a good thing,” explains John J. McGraw, MD, who produces “Doctor-to-Doctor,” a radio show aired on WJFC-AM in Jefferson City, Tenn. “But when I go on the air and tell people what carpal tunnel syndrome really is and what we can do for it, I reach several thousand people.” For 15 minutes each week, Dr.

Surgeon on the street

If a public option was implemented as part of healthcare reform, how would it affect your practice? On September 3–5, the American Society for Surgery of the Hand held its annual meeting in San Francisco, Calif. AAOS Now asked attendees about how a public option might affect their practices. Here’s what they said:

Food, fun, and all that jazz

Maureen Leahy

Rebuilding New Orleans’ hospitality industry When Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast in August 2005, the AAOS was forced to shift its 2006 Annual Meeting from New Orleans to Chicago. The resulting change in venue prompted a unique opportunity to support the recovery efforts in New Orleans. The Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau (CCTB), along with local hotels, pledged to donate $10 per room per night of Annual Meeting sleeping rooms to rebuilding New Orleans.

Ortho-Lift participants flex muscles for charity

Maureen Leahy

Residents, MDA team up to raise money for disabled children Held each spring in New York City, Ortho-Lift is an annual fundraiser benefiting the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) of Manhattan. Organized by Edward Adler, MD, NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases, the event capitalizes on the competitive atmosphere in the hospital’s weight room. “Orthopaedic residents are very competitive,” says Dr. Adler.

Building bridges over once-troubled waters

Annie Hayashi

AAOS launches educational program with Vietnam Although many Americans associate Vietnam with a divisive war, 86.5 million Vietnamese—two thirds of whom are younger than 30 years old—call Americans friends. That friendship was reinforced when the AAOS accepted an invitation from the Vietnamese Orthopaedic Association (VOA) to start an orthopaedic educational exchange program.