A new partnership between two professional specialty organizations will yield a spine registry that will allow all spine surgeons in North America to collect and share quality data.
The American Association of Neurological Surgeons, which has supported the Quality Outcomes Database, partnered with the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons to enhance the registry so it can reach more surgeons and specialists across North America.
The American Spine Registry will be jointly owned by both associations and include the data science capabilities of AANS. AAOS will bring its operational expertise to the registry, which aims to engage multiple stakeholders for use. The organizations hope their new registry will lead to more informed decision-making and better spine patient care.
“This is an appropriate, timely and potentially paradigm-shifting partnership,” said Anthony Asher, MD, of Carolina Neurosurgery & Spine Associates. He serves as the co-chair of the American Spine Registry along with Steve Glassman, MD, of Norton Leatherman Spine Center. “It is significant that these two organizations ultimately chose to embrace the greater potential of what we could accomplish together.”
Ideally, the registry will be able to inform both organizations about care guidelines and establish benchmarks for testing clinical performance. It will also provide surgeons with feedback to continue improving their practices and outcomes while lowering the burden of data reporting for regulatory requirements.