The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) provide opportunities for members and the public to share information on orthopaedic surgery and musculoskeletal health in various formats. These forums include the AAOS websites, mobile websites and applications, social media platforms, listservs, discussion lists, and other forums (AAOS Sites). Your use of these sites may include but in not limited to, posts, uploads, comments or emails (“use”).
By using these AAOS Sites, you agree that you have read and will follow the Privacy Policy, Terms of Use, Antitrust Policy and the rules and guidelines set forth below.
- Courtesy. Do not attack others. Comments are meant to stimulate conversation not to create contention. Let others have their say, just as you may.
- Do not post commercial messages. AAOS Sites are to be used for noncommercial purposes only. Contact people directly with products and services that you believe would help them.
- Privacy laws. Remember to comply with HIPAA and other privacy laws. Accordingly, when talking about patients or submitting any image or video regarding a patient, be sure to follow HIPAA and disclose only de-identified health information.
- Use caution. Information and comments posted on the AAOS Sites are available for all to see, and comments may be subject to libel laws. Do not post any discriminatory, defamatory, hateful, harassing, threatening, abusive, profane, offensive, or illegal content.
- Antitrust. AAOS complies with all antitrust laws in accordance with the AAOS Antitrust Policy. AAOS reminds all users to guard against activity that could be construed as a violation of the Antitrust Policy, including posting any material that:
- References specific fees charged or paid for professional services.
- Discusses prices, discounts, terms or conditions of sale with regard to medical suppliers or other vendors, terms and conditions of provider agreements relating to reimbursement levels, bonus payments, and other price or cost-related items.
- Addresses salaries or terms of employment.
- Attempts to allocate patient markets or encourage collective or coercive activity with regard to third-party payers, hospitals, other healthcare providers, or suppliers.
- Includes information that might otherwise be construed to impose a restraint on trade and inhibit free and fair competition.
- Intellectual property. Respect others' intellectual property rights. Do not post any copyrighted material, trademarks, or other proprietary information without the permission of its owner.
- Additional listserv parameters. In addition to the rules and guidelines set forth above, the following rules apply to the use of listservs, which are applications that distribute messages to subscribers that are part of an electronic mailing list.
- You may not use AAOS listservs for political fundraising efforts.
- You may not use AAOS listservs to lobby or promote yourself for AAOS offices.
- You may not use AAOS listservs for commercial purposes.
- You may use AAOS listservs for membership drives undertaken by state societies.
- You may use AAOS listservs to disseminate AAOS information to members of your state or specialty societyies (e.g., BOC or BOS representatives may, subject to the terms of these rules and guidelines, communicate with their constituents through listservs).
AAOS does not have the obligation to monitor User-generated content, but reserves the right to do so. Content posted or distributed in violation of this policy may be blocked or removed in AAOS’s sole discretion. Violations of this Code of Conduct may cause your access to AAOS Site, ability to post content, or ability to send or receive email from the AAOS Site to be suspended or terminated. AAOS reserves the right to discontinue any of the AAOS Sites at any time and for any reason without advance notice. AAOS makes no guarantees regarding the availability of the AAOS Sites.
Disclaimer:
AAOS is not responsible for the opinions or claims of other users posted to the AAOS Sites and we do not typically confirm the accuracy of postings. User-generated content, such as comments, emails or posts, represent the views of those providing the content, and do not necessarily represent the views or policy of AAOS. Products, services or events posted or distributed through the AAOS Sites by users should not be deemed an AAOS endorsement by AAOS.
This Code of Conduct may be amended or modified at any time.
View the AAOS Terms of Use and Privacy Policy
Revised: June 2020