AAOS Registry Program Blog

This article was originally published in the October 2019 issue of AAOS Now, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) monthly news magazine and reported by AAOS Content Writer Karen Metropulos, MBA. 

WellStar Health System, the largest health system in Georgia, comprised of 11 hospitals and 225 medical office locations, is focused on improving quality and access to health care. It operates outpatient centers, health parks, a pediatric center, nursing centers, hospice, and a home care agency.

Did you know? Participation in the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) Registry Program offers a wide variety of data reuse opportunities including requirements for quality certification programs, federal quality initiatives, insurer's distinction programs, and state collaboratives. As a participating site, unlock all the benefits of your registry data by reviewing more than a dozen data application opportunities below.

Catch up on Our Most Popular Content During the Past 12 Months!

Every rolling twelve-month period, in this case June 2018 – June 2019, the AAOS Registry Program Blog analyzes reader response and identifies our most engaging content. The selection criteria include number of views, submitted comments, and reader follow-up requests.  

We would like to take the opportunity to thank our readers for their participation, contributions, and feedback. Approximately 5,000 health care professionals receive this blog, many through a free email subscription. Others access it though our website, via a keyword search on the Internet, or on Twitter. Our audience consists of Registry Program participants/subscribers, other Registry stakeholders, and institutions that have indicated an interest in joining the AAOS Registry Program. 

Undergoing the Same Surgery He Performs Informed a Joint Surgeon's Practice

This blog concludes a two-part interview series on the personal experience of Kevin J. Bozic, MD, MBA, who underwent total knee arthroplasty. Both interviews originally appeared in AAOS Now (July and August 2019 issues, respectively) and were conducted by Meredith L. Grogan Moore, BS. The first blog posted on July 24 and the final blog is below.

The first installment in this series charted the story of how renowned joint replacement surgeon Kevin J. Bozic, MD, MBA, discovered his own need for total knee arthroplasty, his reaction to the news, and his input on his treatment course. In part two, Dr. Bozic discusses the recovery process, the impact of the experience on the care of his own patients, the relevance of patient-reported outcomes measures (PROMs), and what other providers can glean from this insider experience.

Use This Resource (and Others) to Inform Your Orthopaedic Patients

Creating an informed patient requires reliable, unbiased, and user-friendly joint and bone health resources throughout the patient engagement process. One of the newest American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) patient offerings is the American Joint Replacement Registry (AJRR) Patient-Facing Interim Report. It joins an array of other AAOS patient education resources including the popular OrthoInfo website (over 3 million visits monthly) and the AAOS Registry Program Blog featuring orthopaedic patient stories from guest bloggers. Each of these offerings add a unique perspective to maintaining bone health, treatment options, and expected outcomes. All three resources (plus more) are detailed below and available to your patients.

How Impending Knee Replacement Surgery Took One Arthroplasty Surgeon by Surprise

Fig. 1 Three preoperative radiographic views from Kevin J. Bozic, MD, MBA, of the right knee showing severe medical joint space narrowing and patellofemoral osteoarthritis.

COURTESY OF KEVIN J. BOZIC, MD, MBA

This blog is the first of a two-part series that originally appeared in AAOS Now (July 2019). It shares an interview with Dr. Kevin J. Bozic, MBA, about his own experience with total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and how his decision process and treatment affected him as a patient. In August, our blog will share the second part of the interview which explores, not only his own post-operative patient journey, but how the role reversal from physician-to-patient influenced his interaction with the surgical patients he treats today. The interviews were conducted by Meredith L. Grogan Moore, BS*.

Kevin J. Bozic, MD, MBA, is a renowned joint replacement surgeon in Austin, Texas. After graduating from the Harvard Combined Orthopaedic Residency Program, he trained in adult reconstructive surgery at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. Widely published across orthopaedic and health services journals, he is a pioneer in value-based health care. He is also chair of the Steering Committee for the American Joint Replacement Registry. A few years ago, Dr. Bozic found himself on a path to reconstructive surgery of his own knee. From the outset, unique considerations emerged. His preoperative physician-turned-patient experience is illuminating.

AAOS Musculoskeletal Tumor Registry Pilot Shares Vision

In February 2019, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) and the Musculoskeletal Tumor Society (MSTS), announced the launch of a Musculoskeletal Tumor Registry (MsTR) feasibility pilot. The pilot, part of the AAOS Registry Program, captures data on orthopaedic oncology bone tumor procedures in a structured and scalable way. As part of Sarcoma Awareness Month (July), sponsored by the Sarcoma Foundation of America (SFA), this week’s blog provides an update on MsTR pilot progress.

Presidio Surgery Center Earns Joint Commission Advanced Certification for Total Hip and Total Knee Replacement

The American Joint Replacement Registry (AJRR), part of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) Registry Program, is the largest hip and knee registry in the world based on annual procedures submitted. With total joint procedures increasingly migrating to the outpatient space, collecting ambulatory surgery center (ASC) procedure data, via registries like AJRR, informs outpatient practice. The data helps demonstrate that ASCs are viable sites for orthopaedic surgical services. Presidio Surgery Center in San Francisco, a California Pacific Medical Center affiliate, discovered the benefits of AJRR participation early. They submitted their first procedures to the Registry in 2015 and by March 2019, the number of hip and knee arthroplasty procedures had grown to 366.

Presidio Registry Participation Supports Joint Commission Certification

While Presidio’s initial Registry data collection helped with the analysis of their quality performance, additional continuous quality improvement initiatives were supported by The Joint Commission. Already accredited by The Joint Commission, Presidio received their Advanced Total Hip and Total Knee Replacement Certification in 2016, and was re-certified in 2018. Rob Mayle, MD, Medical Director of the Joint Replacement Program at Presidio Surgery Center, said, “Presidio Surgery Center has been able to demonstrate high-quality performance through registry participation, Joint Commission best practices, and patient-reported outcomes. Our evidence-based approach to patient care is valued by our clinical team, contracting entities, and patients. We chose AJRR as our registry because of the flexibility of the RegistryInsights^® platform and the size of the database allowing for meaningful benchmark analysis.”

This article was originally published in the June 2019 issue of AAOS Now, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) monthly news magazine. 

The University of Maryland Shore Regional Health (UMSRH), part of the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), recently shared its patient-reported outcomes (PROs) journey at the National Association of Orthopaedic Nurses 39th Annual Congress (NAON), which took place May 18–21 in Atlanta. The UMSRH story demonstrates how physician and nurse leadership can successfully collaborate to implement a PRO program both locally and in conjunction with a national arthroplasty registry.

In October 2018, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) Registry Program launched the Shoulder & Elbow Registry (SER). The first module focused on shoulder arthroplasty procedures, with additional modules supporting elbow arthroplasty and rotator cuff repair anticipated. We are pleased to announce that all three areas of focus are now available within SER. They represent high-volume procedures that are performed across the specialty and often in outpatient settings.

Gerald R. Williams Jr., MD, chair of the SER Steering Committee said, “SER, the first of a number of planned offerings emerging from the experience of the highly successful American Joint Replacement Registry (AJRR), demonstrates the Academy’s commitment to providing an infrastructure for our members to study outcomes of their procedures.”