BELLEVUE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In its continuing mission to provide the best patient care possible, Overlake Medical Center announced today it has become a participant in the American Joint Replacement Registry (AJRR).
“Joining the AJRR will help ensure that we can continue to provide patients with the best orthopedic care possible,” said J. Michael Marsh, Overlake’s president and CEO. “By participating with other sites in sharing data about performance and physician and patient experiences, we can help total joint replacement procedures become safer nationwide, while optimizing our own patients’ experiences here at Overlake.”
The AJRR serves as a central clearinghouse for data on total joint replacement procedures performed at Overlake and other participating sites throughout the country, carefully monitoring the implanted devices throughout a recipient’s lifetime and tracing revision rates in a database containing information about the patient, the surgeon who performed the procedure and the site where the procedure took place. Data collected will help more quickly identify implants that are performing poorly, and will help match patients, procedures and devices to ensure every patient is provided the best care possible.
By offering a single source of data, doctors and other healthcare professionals who use the registry can easily access information from sites around the country and use it to help them make more informed recommendations to their patients, ultimately improving patient care. Registry information about patient outcomes and experiences will help device manufacturers improve their products and identify potentially faulty devices. All data collected by the AJRR remains confidential to protect patient privacy.
“Registries for joint replacement procedures and other medical procedures and conditions have proven to be effective tools in improving patient outcomes and reducing complications that can occur both during and following surgical procedures,” said Daniel J. Berry, M.D., Chair of the AJRR Board of Directors. “In fact, in countries where registries have been created and used, revision rates have decreased significantly, resulting in substantial cost savings and a better overall patient experience.”
More than one million hip and knee replacements are performed each year in the U.S. That number is expected to increase as more and more men and women remain active as they get older. From 2000 to 2010, the number of total hip replacements among inpatients aged 45 and over increased from 138,700 to 310,800.
Reporters interested in interviews should contact Lee Keller or Sarah Nolan at The Keller Group: 425.898.2700 or lee@thekellergroup.com and sarahnolan@thekellergroup.com.
Overlake Medical Center is a nonprofit, non-tax-supported, regional medical center with a network of medical clinics throughout the Eastside. The hospital is licensed for 349 beds and offers a comprehensive range of services including cardiac care, cancer care, general and specialty surgery, women’s programs, senior care and psychiatric services. It was the first Level III trauma service on the Eastside. For more information, visit www.overlakehospital.org.
The American Joint Replacement Registry (AJRR) is a multi-stakeholder, independent, not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization for data collection and quality improvement initiatives for total hip and knee replacements. AJRR’s goal is to optimize patient outcomes through collection of data on all primary and revision total joint replacement procedures in the U.S. The mission of the registry is to enhance patient safety, improve quality of care, and reduce the cost of care. Established in 2009, the AJRR contains hip and knee procedures from over 500 hospitals and 2,000 surgeons in 50 states. The registry is increasing at a rate of 2,500 procedures per week. Today, the registry contains more than 260,000 procedures. For more information about AJRR, visit www.ajrr.net.
