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, according to the release.
The national joint registry will include privacy safeguards for patients; legal protections for device makers and physicians; a plan to begin capturing data as early as 2010; and infrastructure to capture at least 90 percent of all procedures, according to the release.
The national joint registry is intended to help doctors to more quickly identify poorly performing products and match patient procedures and devices to optimize outcomes.According to the release, there were more than 1 million hip and knee replacements performed in the U.S in 2006. Of these, approximately 7.5 percent were revisions, resulting in 77,000 procedures at a cost of more than $32 billion. Based on the projected procedures through 2030, the potential savings created by the registry could exceed $13 billion over 20 years.
Proposed by the AAOS and related stakeholders, the AJRR proposal calls for an independent, nonprofit organization, funded by the proposing stakeholders including orthopedic surgeons, payers, government agencies, patient groups, hospitals and device manufacturers. The AJRR is estimated to cost $20 to $25 million to initiate.
Read the AAOS release on the joint replacement registry.
