AAOS Registry Program Blog

Many of our readers and American Joint Replacement Registry (AJRR) participants have asked for more information about the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) Registry Program to better understand future options available to their organizations. Today’s blog shares information from a June 20, 2018 webinar entitled, “AAOS Registry Program: Opportunities for Engagement and Insights.” Presenters Nathan Glusenkamp, MA, AAOS director of registries, and Kristina M. Finney, MPH, senior manager of AAOS Registry Program and Deliverables, shared a strategic overview of the new program, its mission/vision, the AJRR model, new anatomic program areas, and the value of registry data. Highlights from the webinar are below.

As the Electronic Health Record (EHR) becomes the primary interface for physicians and other health care workers, the American Joint Replacement Registry (AJRR) must increasingly work through EHRs for greater interoperability to be achieved.

Providers’ EHR Challenges

Today many hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, and clinicians’ offices use more than one data capture system. In other words, more than one EHR within a single provider system may be utilized to support registries like AJRR. As a result, data capture can be awkward and time consuming for clinicians and their staff. While some of this can be overcome without interoperable systems, for example by uploads from these systems to AJRR of specific standard file formats, AJRR continues to pursue improvements aligned with the overall industry effort.

June is National Safety Month. For the American Joint Replacement Registry (AJRR), part of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) Registry Program, every month is safety month. Many registries around the world began with a mission of monitoring patient safety factors, including medical devices. Over the years, their missions have expanded to include broader data-driven, quality improvement efforts.

William J. Robb III, MD, AAOS TeamSTEPPS mentor, said, “Without safety, there is no quality or value; safety is the kernel around which all else is built.”

This week's blog will guide AJRR participants in updating their 2018 Registry workflows, data submission capabilities, and case analysis efforts. After listening to and incorporating participant feedback, AJRR Data Specifications 07.13.2017 Revision 1 and AJRR Data Dictionary Version 2 were released on April 30, 2018. These Registry upgrades added new data elements and deleted, merged, and renamed data fields to create a more user-friendly and comprehensive Post-Operative Complication (Post-Op Comp) File Layout. AJRR has three layouts that it asks participants to submit: the Procedural Layout, Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) Layout, and Post-Op Comp Layout.

The new Post-Op Comp Layout contains important Level II measures that will, for the first time, allow for risk-adjusted case analysis.

You've chosen the American Joint Replacement Registry (AJRR) for your registry needs and the contract is signed! Now, as an AJRR participating institution, it is time to make RegistryInsights™ work for your hospital(s), surgeons, and patients. How fast and easy is implementation? This week's blog walks you through the timeline, tools, relationships, and resources that will make your AJRR participation thrive. If you are an existing participant, here's how you could maximize your support offerings. If you are just getting started with your Registry efforts, consider this a roadmap of first steps.