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German Society for Orthopaedics and Trauma achieves registry milestones, promotes specialization
The society plans to continue to strengthen its international relationships with this year's annual congress in Berlin.
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Established in 2008, the German Society for Orthopaedics and Trauma supports the objectives and tasks of its two constituents, the German Society for Orthopaedics and Orthopaedic Surgery and the German Trauma Society.
Since its inception, the German Society for Orthopaedics and Trauma (DGOU) has promoted orthopaedic research and provided platforms and networks for researchers and scientists. In addition, DGOU has communicated the latest orthopaedic science findings through its member journal, Orthopaedics and Trauma Surgery – Notes and Messages.
More than 10,000 DGOU members
The society has a registered office in the Tiergarten Towers in Berlin and it has more than 10,000 members, DGOU President Prof. Heiko Reichel, MD, PhD, told Orthopaedics Today Europe.
“The DGOU is dedicated to balancing established knowledge with new technical developments in our daily patient care. This is reflected by the motto ‘Back to the Future’ of the next German Congress of Orthopaedics and Trauma Surgery. In an effort to further strengthen international relationships, the program of the world’s third largest orthopaedic convention will comprise continuous English-speaking sessions from invited speakers from all over the world throughout the entire meeting,” Reichel told Orthopaedics Today Europe.
Reichel is the medical director at the University Clinic for Orthopaedic Surgery at RKU University and Rehabilitation Hospital in Ulm.
The DGOU holds an annual general assembly where the membership elects new executive board members, and votes on budget and statute amendments. The society is governed by its executive board, however, the daily work of the DGOU is structured in sections, in which work groups and panels deal with scientific concerns, develop standard operating procedures and address public health issues, according to DGOU representatives.
Prof. Florian Gebhard, MD, PhD, was elected DGOU vice president at the October 2015 annual general assembly. Gebhard is medical director at the Clinic for Trauma Surgery, Hand Surgery, Plastic Surgery and Reconstructive Surgery and vice-dean at Ulm University’s Faculty of Medicine.
Cooperation with orthopaedic and trauma societies
In all areas of its work, the DGOU cooperates with equivalent panels and sections of the German Trauma Society (DGU) and the German Society for Orthopaedics and Orthopaedic Surgery (DGOOC), according to information from the DGOU.
“Improving and preserving time-tested traditional diagnostic and therapeutic methods is an important part of German orthopaedics and trauma surgery today. Investigating and establishing promising modern technical innovations is another equally important part. The DGOU is dedicated to balancing established knowledge with new technical developments in our daily patient care,” Reichel said in a transcript of his address to DGOU members.
The DGOU supports orthopaedic units and surgeons throughout Germany through awards and fellowships granted annually at the German Congress for Orthopaedics and Trauma Surgery, which is held in Berlin.
Education and training
At its Congress, the DGOU promotes education, specialization and advanced training in orthopaedics and trauma surgery. It also organizes and holds various practice-oriented courses for attendees.
To support young members, the society created the DGOU Youth Forum, which provides representation for young residents in orthopaedic and trauma surgery. This forum offers information, consulting opportunities and advanced education related to clinical, scientific and teaching areas of the specialty.
“In 2016, the DGOU will continue to bring the former two German subspecialties — orthopaedic and trauma surgery — together. Continuous education for both residents in training, as well as board-certified colleagues, is one of the main assignments of our joined society,” Reichel told Orthopaedics Today Europe.
Highlights of 2016 Congress
The 2016 DGOU Congress will be held Oct. 25 to 28 in Berlin. Key topics to be addressed include joint preservation and joint replacement, chronic back pain, conservative fracture treatment, sport orthopaedics and traumatology, complications management and patient safety, according to the DGOU website.
Furthermore, part of the DGOU Congress will focus on the economic difficulties and cost pressures that medical practices and medical departments face in today’s health care environment.
“We are living in a time of rampant economization of the health care sector. There are growing cost pressures in medical practices and departments, and we are expected to become more streamlined and efficient in every way. But a hospital is not an assembly line. We must never forget that we are, first and foremost, committed to helping our patients. Health must not be seen primarily as a market. Measures must be taken to ensure that the existing financial resources in the health care system are used to provide care to our patients,” Reichel said in his 2016 address.
Arthroplasty registers, certified centers
Working conditions, work-life compatibility, education and further training also are on the agenda for the 2016 Congress, Reichel said.
Among its accomplishments, the DGOU has established centers and developed registers to increase, in a sustainable way, the effectiveness and quality of musculoskeletal care in the fields of orthopaedics and trauma in Germany, Reichel said.
“In trauma surgery, the TraumaNetwork DGU and the TraumaRegister DGU are setting an excellent example, while milestones achieved in orthopaedics include the establishment of certified arthroplasty centers and the German Arthroplasty Register. The development of these and other projects in health care will continue in 2016 to ensure that the existing financial resources in the health care system are used to provide the best care possible to our patients,” he told Orthopaedics Today Europe. – by Robert Linnehan
- References:
- The German Society for Orthopaedics and Trauma. About Us. Available at: www.dgou.de/en/about-us.html. Accessed Jan. 27, 2016.
- The German Society for Orthopaedics and Trauma. Welcome from the President of the German Society for Orthopaedics and Trauma (DGOU) 2016. Available at: www.dgou.de/en/about-us/grusswort-2016.html. Accessed Jan. 27, 2016.
- For more information:
- Heiko Reichel, MD, PhD, can be reached at Orthopädische Universitätsklinik am RKU, Oberer Eselsberg 45, 89081 Ulm, Germany; email: sekretariat.reichel@rku.de.
Disclosure: Reichel reports no relevant financial disclosures.