By Elaine Fiedler

Colin F. Moseley, MD, wants site to fulfill its promise

Colin F. Moseley, MD, the new editor-in-chief of Your Orthopaedic Connection (YOC), is excited about facing the challenging work of updating and improving the site. He hopes to expand on the site’s role as the primary source of musculoskeletal information and education for patients. His goal is to develop it into a powerful and interactive educational tool for everyone, whatever their level of understanding of the human body.

Dr. Moseley is a fortuitous fit for the job. Under the previous leadership of Thomas R. Johnson, MD, and Stuart J. Fischer, MD, AAOS staff and volunteers restructured the site (www.orthoinfo.org), editing and updating its 400-plus articles to enhance its status as an outstanding source of orthopaedic information for professionals, patients, and the general public.

“I’ve been pleasantly surprised that my programs could be useful and solve problems in my work,” he said.

“We’re like the Wright brothers at the moment, and somewhere out there is a Dreamliner,” said Dr. Moseley, describing the current YOC site. “Most orthopaedic surgeons consider spending time at the computer to get educated as drudgework. It should be possible to design a learning environment that would attract orthopaedic surgeons the way computer games attract their children. Personally I can’t think of any better place to start than the AAOS, which has already demonstrated its desire to innovate and excel in Web-based products.”

Dr. Moseley also intends to tackle the challenge of addressing the extreme diversity of YOC’s audience. The site attracts more than 1 million page views a month, and visitors have different levels of education, understanding of the human body, and English language comprehension.

“We have to figure out how to satisfy the varied needs of all comers,” he said. “I know of no other Web site that’s done that well.” He is optimistic, however, that with the help of volunteers and staff, YOC will provide a true educational experience and extend interactive computer technology for the benefit of the professionals, the patients, and the public who visit the site.

Elaine Fiedler is a freelance writer who specializes in healthcare topics.

Patients are using YOC … are you?
Google an orthopaedic condition such as “plantar fasciitis,” and the first link that pops up is to the AAOS patient education Web site, Your Orthopaedic Connection (YOC) (www.orthoinfo.org). When search engines put AAOS patient education materials high on the list of recommended Web sites, thousands of patients visit.

AAOS members can take advantage of the peer-reviewed articles on YOC to populate the patient education sections of personal or office Web sites simply by linking to the specific articles you want patients to read. YOC has more than 400 articles on conditions from arthritis to total joint replacement; your specialty is sure to be covered.

By the end of the year, YOC will be adding new customization features to reflect your specific practice information. Watch for these online enhancements…and for more information about using them…in next month’s AAOS Now.