Implementation Resources

AAOS encourages use of our guidelines and provides resources to facilitate the implementation of guideline recommendations. To assist with this effort we offer a range of tools to help share information, including PowerPoint presentations, Care Pathways, patient handouts, clinician checklists, plain language summaries, and Impactful Statements – all of which are fully vetted by content experts. Note that these resources are available exclusively to AAOS members and your login is required to access them.

Clinician Checklists:

AAOS develops checklists in an effort to improve clinician decision-making and clinician-patient discussion. All checklists are developed via the appropriate use criteria (AUC) process using a modified Delphi method. To view the AUC process for creating checklists, please view the AUC Methodology document.

• ACL Reconstruction Surgery: Patient Postoperative Rehabilitation Checklist
• ACL Reconstruction Surgery: Patient Return to Play Checklist
• Hip fractures in the Elderly: Preoperative Checklist
• Hip Fractures in the Elderly: Perioperative Prevention of Future Fractures Checklist

Impactful Statements:

An impactful recommendation is one that offers the potential for current evidence to change care offered to patients. This influence can be due to one or more of the following:

1. Evidence highlighting current variations in care that were previously unsupported by evidence
2. Current evidence supporting a significant difference or change from current clinical practice or previously held "gold standard” care

• Anterior Cruciate Ligament
• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
• Distal Radius Fractures
• Hip Fractures in the Elderly
• Pediatric Diaphyseal Femur Fractures
• Venous Thromboembolic Disease in Patients Underoing Elective Hip and Knee Arthroplasty
• Surgical Management of Osteoarthritis of the Knee
• Treatment of Osteoarthritis of the Knee (2nd Edition)
• Surgical Site Infections
• Rotator Cuff Injuries
• Periprosthetic Joint Infections
• Glenohumeral Joint Osteoarthritis

Clinical Practice Guideline Plain Language Summaries: 

• Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury
• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
• Distal Radius Fractures
• Hip Fractures in the Elderly
• Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip
• Pediatric Supracondylar Humerus Fracture
• Osteoarthritis of the Hip 
• Osteoarthritis of the Knee (Arthroplasty and Non-Arthroplasty)
• Surgical Site Infections

Clinical Practice Guideline Slide Decks

The AAOS develops slide decks based on their CPGs to be used in grand rounds, conference, or meeting presentations. These slides are free for all to use and users can modify the presentation length by removing or combining slides in order to fit the presenter's needs.

• Management of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guideline Grand Round PowerPoint
• Management of Glenohumeral Joint Osteoarthritis Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guideline Grand Round PowerPoint
• Management of Rotator Cuff Injuries: Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guideline Grand Round PowerPoint
• Management of Osteoarthritis of the Hip: Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guideline Grand Round PowerPoint
• Management of Hip Fractures in the Elderly: Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guideline Grand Round PowerPoint
• Diagnosis and Prevention of Periprosthetic Joint Infections: Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guideline Grand Round PowerPoint
• Management of Surgical Site Infections: Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guideline Grand Round PowerPoint
• AAOS/METRC Management of Acute Compartment Syndrome: Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guideline Grand Round PowerPoint
• AAOS/METRC Clinical Practice Guideline for Limb Salvage or Early Amputation
• Clinical Practice Guideline for Psychosocial Factors Influencing Trauma Recovery Grand Round PowerPoint
• Surgical Management of Osteoarthritis of the Knee Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guideline Grand Round PowerPoint
• Treatment of Pediatric Diaphyseal Femur Fractures Clinical Practice Guideline Grand Round PowerPoint

Care Pathways

Based off a Clinical Practice Guideline's recommendations, the following care pathways are intended for use by Orthopaedic Surgeons and Physicians. Users can customize pathways based on their local resources to enable a feasible and appropriate pathway for treatment suited towards their practice setting. These pathways are not intended for use as a benefits determination document are not meant to be interpreted as such.

• Osteoarthritis of the Hip Care Pathway 1
• Osteoarthritis of the Hip Care Pathway 2
• Glenohumeral Joint Osteoarthritis Care Pathway

Quality Derivative Products

The following derivative products were developed based off the recommendations of a clinical practice guideline or systematic review:

• Presurgical Checklist for Periprosthetic Joint Infection Diagnosis
• Periprosthetic Joint Infections Patient Handout
• Surgical Site Infections Patient Handout
• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Patient Handout
• Glenohumeral Joint Osteoarthritis Patient Handout
• Osteoarthritis of the Hip Patient Handout
• Shared Decision-Making Tool: Should I Take Antibiotics Before My Dental Procedure?
• Decision Tree Handout: Appropriateness Ratings for When to Prescribe Prophylatic Antibiotics for Dental Procedures in Implant Patients
• Decision Tree Handout: Appropriateness Ratings for When to Prescribe Prophylatic Antibiotics for Dental Procedures in Implant Patients - Condensed Version