A four-year, $12 million research project funded by the AHRQ, called FORCE-TJR, will allow independent assessment of total joint replacement effectiveness in terms of performance and improvement in patients paint and function.
The project will be the first on TJRs to find risk-adjusted national benchmarks, to help guide surgeons and patient decisions. Research findings presented at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons meeting include:
- Best timing for hip and knee replacement surgery, compared to national benchmarks identified by FORCE-TJR
- Comparisons of patient risk factors and outcomes with data from FORCE-TJR
- Outcomes data on working-aged adults
"With this data, for the first time, we can compare patients' physical outcomes with varied implants, surgical approaches and follow-up programs. We have benchmarks to use to see where our patients fall on a national spectrum both pre- and post-surgery,
said David Ayers, MD, co-lead of FORCE-TJR and chair of the Department of Orthopedics and Physical Rehabilitation at UMass Medical School. "The data is invaluable for developing best practices."