Recent data from the American Joint Replacement Registry give a sense that orthopedic registries are starting to produce in an effort to improve the quality of orthopedic care, according to a Medscape article.
Here are five notes:
1. AJRR is a national joint registry whose mission is to improve arthroplasty patient care, with a focus on hip and knee replacements using data-driven modifications in the behavior of collaborating providers, institutions, manufacturers, payers and patients.
2. Orthopedic registries in other countries have started to affect healthcare decisions. For example, in Australia, the incidence of total knee and hip revisions dropped 14.8 percent in 1999 to 11.2 percent in 2009 following the implementation of a joint replacement registry.
3. In addition to representatives from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and orthopedic subspecialty groups, the AJRR board of directors includes employees of the medical device manufacturers DePuy Synthes and Stryker.
4. Statewide joint replacement registries have been started in California and Virginia, although the California Joint Replacement Registry merged into AJRR last year.
5. In the AJRR 2015 annual report, the mean age of patients undergoing arthroplasty in the United States was 67.7 years for hips and 66.1 for knees, indicating that nearly half of these procedures are performed in people under 65 and who are not likely to be covered my Medicare.