The Principles of Virtual Orthopedic Assessment

Filling a gap in literature, this concise and practical book presents the principles of virtual orthopedic assessment and shares insights into the use of technology for distance patient-physician communication. Offering expert know-how and best practices, it equips readers with essential information on how to best remotely manage the diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of patients.

The book starts by defining telemedicine and presenting the basic requirements. The following chapters each focus on a specific joint or compartment, highlighting its peculiarities in terms of remote clinical assessment, and also discussing data security, patient confidentiality and consent as well as medico-legal issues. Moreover, the book features a dedicated chapter that analyzes specific issues related to remote assessment in children, older patients, noncompliant patients, and patients with pain.

Covering all the basic and practical aspects of this emerging field, this book is a must-read for orthopedists and other professionals, such as general practitioners and physiotherapists, wanting to gain insights into remote orthopedic patient care.

Khaled M. Emara, MD, PhD, FEBOT, FRCS is the current Chairman of the SICOT bone infection committee and a Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Ain Shams University of Cairo. Dr. Emara has been in practice for over 28 years and has trained as well as served a multitude of national and international communities. Dr. Emara joined the Faculty of Ain Shams University in 1994 after completing his residency at the same institution. He went on to do multiple trauma and pediatric orthopaedic fellowships in Geneva; Switzerland, Toledo; Ohio, Dallas, Texas; and Portland, Oregon. Dr. Emara moved on to become the head of the education committee in the Egyptian Medical Syndicate, a position he held for two years (2011-2013) before dedicating his time to promoting orthopaedic surgical education worldwide. In addition to being the Chairman of the SICOT’s active infection committee, he is an engaged member of the trauma and fellowship committees, which offer surgeons high-quality surgical education worldwide and connects leaders in the field and potential mentors with aspiring orthopaedic surgeons, forming life-long international bonds that persist beyond practice.

Dr. Emara is an avid researcher and a prolific author in some of the top Orthopaedic Journals. He is also a fellow of the royal college of surgeons and a European Orthopaedic Board-certified surgeon. In addition to teaching, Dr. Emara makes a point of engaging actively in humanitarian missions and care provision to in-need areas worldwide. He plans at least one relief mission annually and dedicates it to serve patients of various nationalities as well as those with diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds.

In addition to being a surgeon and a researcher, Dr. Emara is a loving husband and a father of three. His wife is an infectious disease physician and a Professor of microbiology.

Dr. Piuzzi is an orthopaedic surgeon specializing in adult joint reconstruction at Cleveland Clinic andcurrently serve as Adult Joint Reconstructive Surgery Research Director. As an orthopedic clinician-scientist his expertise is in primary and revision total hip and knee procedures for the treatment of osteoarthritis, osteonecrosis, arthrofibrosis, osteolysis, periprosthetic infections and periprosthetic fractures. As such, his research is directly translational to his clinical practice, reinforcing the clinician-scientist role. He is committed to the development and optimization of strategies for preservation, repair, regeneration, augmentation or replacement of musculoskeletal tissues. Dr Piuzzi vision is to advance patient care through Evidence-Based Orthoaedic Surgery and Personalized Medicine.

As Staff Surgeon at Cleveland Clinic (CC) Adult Joint Reconstructive Surgery Center he routinely performs 350+ surgeries per year. As Director of the Adult Joint Reconstruction Research Program,he was granted 40% dedicated time to coordinate and lead the CC Joints Clinical Research Program, a world leader team in arthroplasty research that incorporates translational and clinical research. As one of the largest and more productive Joints research groups in the United States, it has a total annual research expenditures exceeding $2 million from several funding sources and a staff team comprised of: 1 Program Manager; 1 Data Analyst, 5 Research Coordinators, and 1 Associate Staff (PhD), in addition to Research Fellows and Medical students. Altogether the group publishes 100+ Peer-Reviewed manuscripts per year, and is actively conducting 10+ Clinical trials.

Along with his commitment to providing outstanding patient care and performing high quality impactful research, Dr. Piuzzi believes strongly in the importance of advancing the field of orthopaedics through involvement in leadership, advocacy, and education, and is actively involved in mentoring medical students, residents, and fellows. He is a member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), Orthopaedic Research Society (ORS), International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT), and American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons (AAHKS) among others. He serves in the ORS Clinical Research Committee, AAOS American Joint Replacement Registry Young Committee, AAHKS Research Committee, and ISCT Musculoskeletal Committee. He has published over 220 peer-reviewed articles, presented in multiple national and international meetings, and won multiple awards including the 2018 AAOS/OREF/ORS Clinician Scholar Career Development Program Award and 2020 OREF/Current Concepts in Joint Replacement (CCJR) Clinical Practice Award. He currently serves as Associate Editor in the Journal of Knee Surgery and Journal of Hip Surgery, as well as reviewer in numerous prestigious Journals.