Common Issues Abroad, Common Cause at Home

Marc J. Moreau, M.D., FRCSC
President, Canadian Orthopaedic Association

Let me take this opportunity to wish each and every Canadian Orthopaedic Association member and their families best wishes for the holiday season from Barb and myself. It is also an appropriate time to sincerely thank our management team of Doug Thomson, Cynthia Vezina and Trinity Wittman for the always diligent work they perform for our organization.

The honour of being President carries responsibilities as well as provides the wonderful and interesting experience of visiting and participating in meetings with other orthopaedic societies. Travelling with the Carousel group (Presidents of the British Orthopaedic Association, South African Orthopaedic Association, Australian Orthopaedic Association, New Zealand Orthopaedic Association, the American Academy and the American Orthopaedic Association) provides an opportunity to meet leaders in the respective organizations and discuss issues germane to each group.

At each association's Annual Meeting, the Carousel group met outside of the frenzy of meeting activity to share ideas on common themes such as web sites, resident-trainees' hours, national joint registries, codes of ethics, and fragility fractures. What became evident was the shared concern by all organizations about the subject of "fragility fractures" and the question surrounding "who should treat osteoporosis?" This topic was headlined at almost every meeting with free papers and symposia culminated by the British Orthopaedic Association publishing a small blue booklet entitled "The Care of Patients with Fragility Fractures" which was made available to all individuals attending the BOA Meeting. A useful algorithm printed in the booklet was developed employing an integrated Fracture Liaison Service to promote prevention of secondary fractures.

Mrs. Barb and Dr. Marc J. Moreau

The subject of "Code of Ethics" and the relationship of orthopaedic surgeons with their partners in industry was vetted on several occasions by the Carousel Presidents. At present, England and South Africa have no formal Code of Ethics. The American Academy, the Australian, and the New Zealand organizations have published codes that differ significantly in regards to their approaches to sponsorship of individual orthopaedic surgeons for educational events put on by industry. The COA has a formal code of ethics created by our Ethics Committee led by Dr. Bill Dust, but a formal passing of the code by the Board of Directors awaits further discussion

The Board's commitment to the membership this year is to gather, prior to the Mid-Winter Meeting, for a two-day Strategic Planning session as a follow up to the previous one held in 2001. Every organization must answer to the will and desires of its membership as well as assure the proper running of the organization. The results of the recent membership questionnaire, as published in the last Bulletin, state that the members want to the see an expansion of the role of the COA in regards to lobbying. The Board also feels that it must run an organization that is fiscally sound. These two topics will make up the "high points" for the two-day meeting.

Once again, Barb and I wish you all the best over the holidays. We hope to see all of you in Quebec City on June 4, 2008 for the second combined meeting of the Canadian Orthopaedic Association and the American Orthopaedic Association.