Ready-to-go presentations and scripts to personalize and present

Are you interested in marketing your practice or expanding your patient base? How about increasing general awareness of orthopaedic conditions? If so, I encourage you to take advantage of the AAOS Community Orthopaedic Awareness Program (COAP).

COAP offers 11 ready-to-go PowerPoint presentations and accompanying scripts on several common musculoskeletal conditions, such as 10 Common Orthopaedic Injuries, Sports Injuries, and Osteoarthritis and You. General presentations focus on issues such as patient safety and patient-centered care.

These electronic presentations can quickly be customized for the general public and/or school groups. The AAOS public relations department and volunteer members of the Public Relations Oversight Group have updated all the presentations with new statistics and have added two new presentations: Common Hand Injuries (in partnership with the American Society for Hand Surgery) and Pigeon Toes, Knock Knees, and Flat Feet: When to See the Orthopaedist (in partnership with the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America). Two more new titles are coming soon.

You can download any of the presentations at www.aaos.org/prresources (password protected), or request them all on compact disc, at no charge. Contact Pat Julitz by e-mail at julitz@aaos.org or phone at (847) 384-4036.

If you have a presentation you would like to share or an idea for a future presentation, contact Sandy Gordon, director, public relations, by e-mail at gordon@aaos.org or phone at (847) 384-4030.

“Sign Your Site” PSAs highlighted
The Academy’s “Sign Your Site” public service announcements (PSAs) are still receiving big play. Outpatient Surgery magazine highlighted the four print PSAs in a recent issue. The magazine urged surgeons to order the posters and postcards and make them available in preoperative waiting rooms for all patients.

These PSAs are also gaining attention from bloggers and showing up on other popular Web sites. This keeps the Academy out in front on the important issue of patient safety.

Multimedia news releases rock
A new, high-tech way to publicize important clinical or review articles that appear in Academy publications is the multimedia news release or MNR. The MNR combines a written press release with video, audio, and print components.

The first AAOS MNR focused on a study about improving patient communications that appeared in the July issue of The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (JBJS). You can view it at www.prnewswire.com/mnr/aaos/33875/

The second MNR covers two studies—one on hip fractures and the other on total hip replacement outcomes in the elderly—that were published in the September issue of JBJS. It paired perfectly with several of the Academy’s PSAs about hip conditions, one of which was produced in partnership with the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons. View it at www.prnewswire.com/mnr/aaos/34597/

The news release appears on the left, and video, audio, and print PSAs are included on the right. A simple click of the mouse gives the media and the public a chance to see, hear, and download these PSAs. In just one release, we have helped to promote the Academy, JBJS, and a specialty society.

The release also includes several live links. For example, clicking the falls prevention link sends people to the AAOS patient education Web site (www.orthoinfo.org) page with tips on preventing a fall.

Frank B. Kelly, MD, is chair of the AAOS Communications Cabinet. He can be reached at fkelly@forsythstreetortho.com

Tip of the Bone
In any interview, one way to help ensure that your important orthopaedic messages are not left out or overlooked by a reporter is to start your answer with one of the following phrases:

• “The important point to remember is ….”
• “Something I’d like to emphasize is…”
• “The critical point is….”

These key phrases will help increase the chances that the message you want to convey with a quote or sound bite will be remembered and used by the reporter or editor. During a short interview, these phrases can also help you make a point quickly.