The American Joint Replacement Registry (AJRR) is an independent, not-for-profit to uniformly collect joint replacement and revision data to monitor device performance. The Registry was created to provide the data needed to support best practices related to safety, costs, and advances in technology.
Existing registries outside of the U.S. have resulted in up to a 10 percent reduction in revision rates. The American Association of Orthopedic Surgeons estimates that there are more than 800,000 hip and knee replacements performed in the U.S annually. This means that even a modest two percent decrease in the U.S. revision rate would yield a savings of $65.2 million in one year with potential projected savings of more than $1.3 billion in over 20 years.
New York University (NYU) one of 16 locations selected to participate in the new Joint Replacement Registry Pilot. The locations selected by AJRR’s “Hospital Surgeon Participation Workgroup” and range from academic centers to smaller community hospitals plus private orthopedic practices have produced a diversity of hospitals in terms of geographic locations, size, and practice types.
According to Joseph D. Zuckerman, Professor of Orthopedic Surgery and Chairman of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at NYU Langone Medical Center, “Similar registries in other countries have proven to be successful and with the aging baby boomer population, it is necessary to engage and educate our patients to develop the best care for their joints in the future.”
Replacement joints have a relative lifespan before a device many become loose and potentially require additional surgery. This procedure is called revision arthroplasty where a previously implanted artificial joint is removed and replaced with a new one. AJRR can play an important role as early implant failure can be indicated, evidence can be made available that can positively influence physician behavior, decrease the burden of disease and costs associated with surgical morbidity and mortality, and reduce the volume of premature revision procedures.
AJRR will collect data from both younger joint replacement patients (40-60) as well as from Medicare patients. The data from younger patients will provide long term information about the progression of joint replacements and the impact of wear and tear over time from a more active population. The data will help patients make more informed choices in consultation with their surgeon, how to time their total joint replacement procedures, and provide information on the best course of rehabilitation.
The pilot will conclude once it generates three months of data from each institution but the long term goal is to capture data from 90 percent of U.S. hospitals where hip and knee arthroplasty procedures are performed for the next 5 years.
For more information contact Randolph R. Meinzer, Director of Information Technology at (847) 430-5033.
