Editorial policy

Our rules

You are reading about your health, so you should know where each figure comes from, who checked it and when. This page explains how we prepare and update OsteoplusX materials. These are our rules. If we break them, please tell us.

Sources

We use sources in this order:

1. Russian Ministry of Health clinical guidelines, such as the guidelines on hip osteoarthritis[1]1Клинические рекомендации «Коксартроз» (ID 870_1) — Минздрав России, 2024To the list of sources → and knee osteoarthritis[2]2Клинические рекомендации «Гонартроз» — Минздрав России, 2024To the list of sources →. Russian doctors work by them.
2. Materials from professional associations and national health services: AAOS OrthoInfo[3]3Total Knee Replacement — AAOS OrthoInfo, 2024To the list of sources →, the NHS, Cleveland Clinic. They are written for patients and updated regularly.
3. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses from peer-reviewed journals. They pool data from many studies, so we prefer them to single papers.
4. National joint replacement registries. They record every operation in a country and give the fullest data on how long implants last. We always quote their figures with the follow-up period and patients’ age.
5. Russian research papers, when we need data specific to Russia.

We do not use clinic advertising, patient reviews, forums or unsigned articles as sources. Price lists from clinics and medical travel portals are quoted as a guide, with the date we checked them.

When studies disagree, we say that the data differ and explain why.

How materials are prepared

Every clinical page goes through three steps:

1. The navigator-author gathers sources, writes the text and adds references. Every page states that the navigator is not a doctor.
2. The physician reviewer, an orthopaedic trauma surgeon, checks indications, risks, timelines and figures. The reviewer can send the text back for changes. Once it passes, the page shows the review date and the reviewer’s name.
3. The editor checks readability, typography, links and compliance with this policy.

For service, contact and legal pages, the reviewer only checks that they make no medical promises.

References

• A number in square brackets follows each statement, for example [1]1Клинические рекомендации «Коксартроз» (ID 870_1) — Минздрав России, 2024To the list of sources →. It links to the list of sources at the bottom of the page.
• The list gives the title, organisation, year and a link to the document.
• Every number, timeline and price has a source. We do not publish a figure without one.
• Prices are marked as a guide and show the date they were checked.

Updates

Each page shows two dates:

• Updated: when the text last changed.
• Reviewed: when the physician reviewer confirmed the medical content.

We revise clinical pages at least every 12 months. We revise a page sooner when:

• new clinical guidelines come out: the hip osteoarthritis guideline, for example, is due for revision by 2026[1]1Клинические рекомендации «Коксартроз» (ID 870_1) — Минздрав России, 2024To the list of sources →;
• a major study changes the picture, as trials of robotic surgery have done;
• a reader or the reviewer reports an error.

If a page was reviewed more than a year ago, check the information with your doctor.

Corrections

• We fix a factual error, such as a wrong figure, within 5 working days of confirming it. The Updated date changes.
• If the error could have affected a reader’s decision, we add a correction note at the bottom of the page.
• We fix typos without a note.

To report an error, write to info@osteoplusx.ru with the subject “Error on the site”. Include the page address and, if you can, your source. We reply on working days, within 24 hours.

Artificial intelligence

We prepare texts and illustrations with AI tools:

• AI helps draft texts and diagrams. The author decides the structure, the sources and the final wording.
• The author checks medical statements against primary sources. We never take an AI answer on trust.
• Every illustration is labelled as a schematic illustration. Diagrams are simplified and do not show anatomy with medical accuracy.
• The physician reviewer checks this content in the same way as text written by a person.

Nothing is published without human review.

Advertising and income

• The portal has no paid placements, banners or sponsored content from clinics or implant manufacturers.
• Clinics do not pay us for referring patients.
• Our income comes from the navigator’s paid information services. Service blocks are set apart from articles and carry the contraindications warning required by advertising law[4]4Федеральный закон № 38-ФЗ «О рекламе», ст. 24 — КонсультантПлюс, 2006To the list of sources →.
• We do not rank clinics or surgeons, and we do not promise treatment results.

Conflict of interest

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If the author or reviewer takes on a link with a clinic or manufacturer, we will disclose it here. This covers employment, fees and taking part in a study.

Contact the editors

Questions about this policy, suggestions and error reports: info@osteoplusx.ru. Other channels are on the Contacts page.