What's New

• Registration now open for AAHKS 20^th Annual Meeting
• Request Your New AAHKS Password
  NEW - Your Username is your AAHKS member ID without any leading zeroes
  AAHKS has successfully transitioned to our new association management system. This conversion requires AAHKS members, to go through the 'Request a new Password' process for access to the AAHKS web site.
• On July 27, 2010 AAHKS was invited to submit to CMS within two weeks comments related to two proposed quality measures for elective THA/TKA: complications in hospitalized patients and 30-Day all-cause readmission. This link will direct you to the letter. The specific complications to be measured are based on time from surgery. Acute MI, pneumonia, and sepsis will be measured within seven days of the procedure; PE, wound infection and surgical site bleeding within 30 days and periprosthetic joint infection and mechanical complications within 90 days. Risk stratification of patients will be based on hospital administrative claims data related to medical co-morbidities. While AAHKS was well represented on both the working group (Dan Berry, Kevin Bozic, Bob Bucholz) and Technical Expert Panel (Norman Johanson, Courtland Lewis, Jay Lieberman, Richard White), the recommendations regarding inclusion of socioeconomic factors and limb specific factors in the risk stratification of complications and readmission was not accepted. (For example, there would be no difference in risk between a patient with minimal joint deformity and one with severe joint deformity.) In our AAHKS letter to CMS we are recommending that decisions related to measurement of surgical complications be postponed until appropriate ICD-9 codes can be developed to allow for appropriate risk stratification based on orthopedic specific issues (e.g. joint deformity) and that socioeconomic status of the patient be included in the risk stratification. We also strongly recommend that participation in the American Joint Replacement Registry be a quality metric. We will inform you of any response from CMS. For your information we are also posting the letters sent to CMS from AAOS and other orthopedic-related groups. 
• AAHKS 20^th Annual Meeting
  November 5-7, 2010, Hyatt Regency DFW, Dallas, TX
• Membership dues are due January 1, 2010. Invoices were emailed to all members on December 1. You may pay your dues on-line. Contact Krista Stewart Krista@aahks.org with any questions.
• Adult Hip & Knee/Tumor Fellowship Vacancies for 2011
• Fellowship Match: The American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons, the Hip Society, the Knee Society and the Musculoskeletal Tumor Society have joined to form a Fellowship Match for Adult Reconstruction and Tumor Fellowships. Fourth year residents will be able to submit applications starting in September for the 2011 Fellowship Year. More information about the match. If you have additional questions, please contact the AAHKS Executive Director, Robert A. Hall, CAE at 847-384-4373 or at bob@aahks.org.
• Fellowship Match Application
• Participating Fellowship Programs
• AAHKS Orthopaedic Bookstore
• Ortho supplies and help needed for Haiti
• Dr. Parsley’s update from Haiti
• Knee Replacements Are Determined to Be Cost-Effective
• AAHKS Documentary on Hip and Knee Replacement Surgery is Available.