AAOS: Only One Joint Registry Necessary

Duplicate joint registries could reduce the benefit of having a national one, according to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS).

The academy’s national joint registry is expected to start capturing data as early as next year, but other groups are working on registries, too, which are in the proposal stages, Daniel Berry, AAOS second vice president, said. “It’s always conceivable that at some point, if different ones are created, they might reach some stage of merger, but I think it’s preferable to choose one really good system,” Berry said.

The AAOS has determined the best course of action for starting and administering a national joint registry would include:

• Privacy safeguards for patients

• Legal protections for device makers and physicians

• A plan to begin capturing data as early as 2010

• Infrastructure to capture at least 90 percent of all procedures.

The AAOS has incorporated the American Joint Replacement Registry, a nonprofit organization dedicated to collecting and reporting on hip and knee joint replacement procedures.

The goal of a national joint registry is to monitor device performance, thereby allowing early recognition of underperforming processes or devices and supporting continued clinical learning. A joint registry follows the artificial joint device throughout a recipient’s lifetime in a database with information about the patient’s demographics, as well as where and when the surgery took place, according to the AAOS.

“In 2009, AAOS has made great strides in bringing the American Joint Replacement Registry to reality. We have now incorporated. And, we currently are in the process of forming project work groups to tackle data, governance and oversight issues,” said Dr. John Callaghanm first vice president of the AAOS and orthopaedic surgeon at the University of Iowa.