California HealthCare Foundation – Supporting ideas and innovations to improve health care for all Californians.

California Joint Replacement Registry

Despite the high volume of hip and knee replacements, data on device efficacy, surgical technique, and patient outcomes are lacking. A statewide registry will fill the gaps.

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September 2011

The vast array of implantable devices and the wide-ranging needs of patients make joint replacement treatment choices complex. Furthermore, lack of a comprehensive, scientific assessment of devices, treatment protocols, surgical approaches, and patient factors influencing results prevents more informed surgical decisions, often leading to suboptimal care, poor outcomes, and high costs.

The California Joint Replacement Registry (CJRR) was created to address the absence of comparative effectiveness information by pooling and analyzing data from surgeons and hospitals in California. The CJRR currently focuses on hip and knee replacements, and collects patient demographics, device information, and clinical data including patient comorbidities and self‐reported outcomes. The CJRR aims to promote the use of performance information regarding hip and knee replacements to enable better decision making by patients, physicians, other providers, and purchasers.

In August 2011, the CJRR completed a pilot phase with three hospitals and select surgeons: Cedars‐Sinai Medical Center (Los Angeles), Hoag Orthopedic Institute (Newport Beach), and University of California, San Francisco. The CJRR is now recruiting additional hospitals and surgeons for this important voluntary effort.

The CJRR is supported by the California HealthCare Foundation, Pacific Business Group on Health, and the California Orthopaedic Association.

To learn more about the CJRR, visit the website through the External Link below.

Reader Comments

Great questions! Thanks for your interest. The focus of the CJRR is on quality, so no cost data are being collected. Yes, surgeon-level data are being collected. And yes, public reporting is an end goal. The CJRR is committed to transparency and plans to publicly report a select set of measures once there are enough participating hospitals and surgeons, and once there has been an opportunity to vet the measures to assure their reliability and validity. An important feature of the CJRR is that it is governed by a surgeon-majority steering committee. This steering committee will determine the most appropriate measures, as well as the approach and the timing of public reporting. To learn more, please visit www.caljrr.org.
-- Stephanie Teleki, CHCF Sr. Program Officer

http://www.caljrr.org/
Will any data be collected on cost and surgeon performing the procedure? How will this data be made available? WIll it be publicly reported?