Full article here: First data flows from national registry tracking joint replacements.

First data flows from national registry tracking joint replacements (USA)

By Jaimy Lee  | November 7, 2014

Hospitals for the first time have access to national data on hip and knee replacement surgeries, which are among the most common surgical procedures performed in the U.S. and require expensive revisions when they fail.

An inaugural report published Friday by the American Joint Replacement Registry—the first national medical procedure registry in the U.S.—will include basic information on roughly 43,000 joint surgeries in 2013. It’s a first step toward amassing a pool of information that can help providers judge the performance of the devices and improve the safety and quality of their procedures.

The joint replacement registry gathers data on patients covered by private health plans and Medicare, and it tracks the type of implant and the lot numbers for every procedure. The first round of data, submitted by about 120 hospitals, reflects about 4.5% of the joint replacements conducted every year in the U.S.

It provides a basic snapshot of the procedures performed last year, such as how many patients had hip revisions, how many women had knee surgery, and what diagnostic codes were used.

Download the report – AJRR Fall 2013_F11062013