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Quality & Practice Resources / Quality Programs & Guidelines / Clinical Practice Guidelines

AAOS Clinical Practice Guidelines

The AAOS provides evidence-based programs for current orthopaedic diagnostic, treatment, and postoperative procedures. Find Clinical Practice Guidelines, Appropriate Use Criteria, Performance Measures, and other derivative materials, along with published articles on the programs below.

Additionally, all AAOS Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPG), Appropriate Use Criteria, as well as CPG impactful statements and plain language summaries can be accessed through AAOS' OrthoGuidelines app, an online resource that provides up-to-date treatment guidelines to orthopaedic surgeons and professionals. This free mobile app is available via desktop browsers or as a native app from iOS or Google Play.

Upper Extremity Quality Programs

Lower Extremity Quality Programs

Guidelines listed below are:

  • Acute Isolated Meniscal Pathology
  • Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries
  • Hip Fractures in Older Adults
  • Osteochondritis Dissecans
  • Osteoarthritis of the Hip
  • Osteoarthritis of the Knee
  • Surgical Management of Osteoarthritis of the Knee

Quality-Lower Extremity Programs.jpg

Pediatric Quality Programs

Infection Quality Programs

Trauma Quality Programs

External Quality Products Endorsed by AAOS

The AAOS recognizes and applauds the efforts of orthopaedic specialty societies in the development of Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs), and Appropriate Use Criteria (AUC). The combined efforts of orthopaedic societies ensure that a greater number of conditions and patient populations can be addressed, improving overall patient care. To broaden the reach of specialty society CPGs, and AUC, the AAOS reviews the content for potential endorsement. Upon endorsement, the AAOS logo is added to the document and the content is listed on both aaos.org and within OrthoGuidelines. To acquire AAOS endorsement, external CPGs, SRs, and AUC go through a two step process:

  1. Review: AAOS Staff performs an initial review of the guideline methodology, followed by a review by the AAOS Committee on Evidence Based Quality and Value.
  2. Approval: Upon receiving the recommendation to endorse from the reviewing bodies, the endorsement request is then approved by the AAOS Committee on Evidence Based Quality and Value, AAOS Council on Research and Quality, and AAOS Board of Directors.