The COA Web Site – Request for Input

Myles Clough, M.D., FRCSC
Kamloops, BC
Douglas Thomson, CEO
COA, Toronto, ON

Only a short time ago it was debatable whether our organization needed a web site. It was suspected that orthopaedic surgeons seldom used the Internet for anything serious. Now, we are much more comfortable with the web and 80% of the attendees at the COA Annual Meeting register on-line. Yet the role of the COA web site in the affairs of the organization is seldom considered, and members’ ideas on the subject have not been solicited as often as they should be. This article describes the current structure and content of the web site, reviews the current editorial arrangements, and describes other options which the COA web site could offer. It is also an urgent plea for input from the membership on this subject.

Current Web Site Content

The web site front page www.coa-aco.org is a “flash” page which directs users to either the English or French version of the site. Like most flash pages, it has very little text. It offers the keywords: COA; ACO; Orthopaedic; Canada. A page like this is designed to be attractive to search engines so that someone using one to find out about orthopaedics in Canada would find the COA page.

On the home page, there are announcements about current COA activities such as registration for the Annual Meeting and links to the subdivisions of the site. These sections are briefly described in Table 1.

Table 1 COA Web Site

Current Editorial Organization

The content of the web site, the material actually posted, is decided by the CEO and staff members of the Association. The actual posting is done by a third party. Online registration for the Annual Meeting is contracted to an event management firm. Overall supervision of the web site is undertaken by the Communications Committee. Dr. Myles Clough is the member of that committee with special focus on the web site. However, he does not have routine involvement in the web site structure, content or financial arrangements. The COA currently budgets in the area of $10,000 annually for web hosting costs and maintenance for the main site. Annual Meeting on-line registration is performed on a third party remote server and costs another $4,000 per year for design and management.

The Bulletin

Articles from the COA Bulletin are posted under the headings of Scientific Articles, Practice-Related Articles, Professional Development Articles and General Interest Articles. Most of the articles in the Bulletin are now posted. Advertising is not posted at the moment. The implications are significant. If all the content of the Bulletin is available on the Internet, the way would be open for members to opt not to receive the paper copy. This would reduce our costs of printing and distribution, but might have an adverse effect on advertising revenue which is essential to cover the production costs of the printed version. We might need to consider posting some of the advertisements in association with the articles.

The Web Sites of Other Organizations

Considering the web sites of other orthopaedic organizations is a useful way to plan improvements in our own site. The premier site in this regard is the web site of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS): www.aaos.org. This web site is a huge undertaking. Table 2 shows some of its features over and above those which the COA already provides for its members and the public.

Table 2 Features of the AAOS Web Site

The AAOS web site has the benefit of various significant resources. There is an Internet Communications Committee providing web site oversight made up of seven orthopaedic surgeon members, one staffer and an international consultant. We are not suggesting that the COA should emulate this web site; however, it does present a range of choices for additional services to our members.

Like the COA, most national orthopaedic associations have a web site which offers information about membership, meetings, fellowships, awards and news. Table 3 lists the addresses of other national orthopaedic associations along with additional features their sites offer.

Table 3 Web Sites of National Orthopaedic Organizations

Several of these sites show evidence of early enthusiasm but later failure to keep the site maintained and up to date. Nevertheless, it is interesting to see what our colleague organizations are trying to achieve on the web.

Additional Features Which Could Be Added To the COA Web Site

1. Aliasing of e-mail addresses. This would allow e-mails to be sent to (e.g.) Committee Chairs without revealing those individuals addresses. The messages would be passed on if appropriate.

2. Posting of abstracts from past meetings, ICL hand-outs etc.

3. Electronic posters for future meetings - similar to paper posters but on the Internet.

4. Canadian focussed patient information collection. Links to the AAOS collection until such time as Canadian content is available.

5. Posting entire COA Bulletin with option to receive an electronic copy only.

6. Search engine for the site.

7. Members only section. This should include a database of members with contact information such as e-mail addresses. Other features might be a discussion forum on cases and/or Canadian orthopaedic topics.

8. Access to journals through OVID.

9. Members web site hosting, similar to AAOS.

Implications

These options have been placed in approximate order of increasing cost. Most of the abstracts and Bulletin material exist as electronic files when they are submitted. Posting them as web pages should be relatively simple. We have alluded to the advertising issues which make posting the Bulletin less simple. The other options require more extensive alterations to the current web site and/or contracts with other organizations. Clearly, it would be easiest to say – “let’s do all of that”. Equally clear is our lack of financial and enthusiasm resources to accomplish much of this in the near future.

Recommendations

All COA members take a thorough look at our web site and some of the other sites mentioned in this article to develop an informed opinion of directions for development.

A simple mission statement for the web site should be evolved:

“The purpose of the COA web site is to …..”

The COA Communications Committee should appoint a member to provide oversight of the web site. That member should consult with COA staff and the Committee to provide a clear understanding of the mission and goals of the site. He/she should report through the Committee to the Executive.

Short-term and long-term goals for the development of the web site should be presented and approved by the Communications Committee.

The preferences of members on this issue should be sought both by free response to this article and, in future, by a form based survey on the web site.

Input, recommendations and ideas on how the COA web site can be improved are requested from all members of the Association. The site can only be as useful as you ask it to be. Please send your suggestions to the attention of the Communications Committee: Cet e-mail est protégé contre les robots collecteurs de mails, votre navigateur doit accepter le Javascript pour le voir .