Today’s Top Story
Federal budget deal includes $2 billion increase in NIH funding.
STAT reports that, under a bipartisan budget deal agreed to by the U.S. Congress, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will receive a $2 billion increase in funding over the next 5 months. President Trump had previously proposed a $1.2 billion cut for the agency in the current fiscal year. The deal does not address funding for 2018; the president has previously called for a cut of $5.8 billion to the agency during FY 2018.
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Other News
Study: Lack of informed consent may increase risk of medical liability suits.
Findings from a study published online in the journal JAMA Surgery suggest that failure to obtain informed consent may increase the likelihood of medical liability litigation after spine surgery. The authors conducted a retrospective, cohort study of 233 spinal surgery patients who filed medical liability claims, 153 of whom cited a lack of informed consent. The authors found that the most common informed consent allegations were failure to explain risks and adverse effects of surgery (n = 52) and failure to explain alternative treatment options (n = 17). Overall, patients in the group alleging a lack of informed consent were more likely to require additional surgery and have more permanent injuries compared with those in the informed consent group.
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Study: PRP injections may help reduce pain for patients with ankle OA.
According to a study published online in the journal Foot & Ankle International, intra-articular injections of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) may help reduce pain for patients with ankle osteoarthritis (OA). The researchers reviewed information on 20 patients (20 ankles) with varus-type ankle OA who received three ankle injections of 2-mL PRP at 2-week intervals under ultrasonographic guidance. At 4-, 12-, and 24-week follow-ups, they noted no serious adverse effects. However, visual analog scale for pain and Japanese Society for Surgery of the Foot ankle/hindfoot scale scores significantly decreased from baseline at all time points, and the mean score in the pain-related subscale of the Self-Administered Foot Evaluation Questionnaire significantly improved from baseline to 12 weeks after treatment. The researchers write that “the amount of pain reduction was maximal at 12 weeks after the last injection, and the effect was reduced at 24 weeks.”
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U.S. and Canadian agencies announce competition to improve wellness data collection.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Public Health Agency of Canada have announced a competition designed to encourage development of new technologies to collect data related to nutrition, sleep, physical activity, and sedentary behavior. The competition is open to innovators in health and technology from both the public and private sectors. The competition is open through Jan. 15, 2018, with $100,000 in prizes available in the U.S. portion of the competition.
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Learn more about the competition…
Vote now! AAOS 2018 Nominating Committee, two resolutions and three bylaw amendments
Voting has begun to elect the six members of the 2018 Nominating Committee and to determine action on two AAOS resolutions and three bylaw amendments. Online voting is quick, secure, and confidential. For the resolutions and bylaw amendments, at least five percent of the total fellowship must cast ballots for the voting to be valid. Ballots must be submitted by Wednesday, May 17, 2017. If you have questions, please contact the AAOS Voting Hotline, at 800-999-2939. An AAOS member ID is required to vote.
Learn more and cast your ballot…(member login required)
Nominate a colleague for the AAOS Diversity, Humanitarian, or Tipton Leadership Award!
Friday, June 9, 2017, is the last day to submit nominations for the 2018 Diversity and Humanitarian Awards and the William W. Tipton Jr, MD, Orthopaedic Leadership Award. These awards are presented annually at the AAOS Annual Meeting. The respective award recipients are recognized for their endeavors to further encourage diversity or culturally competent care, participation in humanitarian activities, or leadership activities in the orthopaedic profession.
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Call for volunteers: Sports Medicine Content Committee.
May 19 is the last day to submit your application for chair of the Sports Medicine Content Committee. Members of Content Committees analyze information to identify member knowledge gaps, and recommend development of new education programs to the Council on Education. Applicants for this position must be active members with a practice emphasis on sports medicine.
Learn more and submit your application…(member login required)
