The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) Registry Program’s mission is to improve orthopaedic care through the collection, analysis, and reporting of actionable data. We seek to encompass all the musculoskeletal and anatomical areas for orthopaedics through comprehensive data and technology resulting in optimal patient outcomes.
In June of 2017, the AAOS Board of Directors approved a significant multi-year investment in the AAOS Registry Program to address a variety of musculoskeletal/anatomical areas beginning with the acquisition of the American Joint Replacement Registry (AJRR) that same year. In fact, AJRR was returning to its inception point, having originated within the Academy in 2009. The Registry Program investment was made to create a source of unique clinical information, enable performance measurement by physicians for physicians, provide support for novel scientific research production, and provide scaled delivery of registry-driven quality improvement programs.
Ultimately, patients are the ones who benefit most when your organization and surgeons participate in one of our Registries. Through the submission and analysis of data, it’s easy to actively utilize the knowledge gained to improve outcomes and quality of orthopaedic care. With national benchmark data at your fingertips through the AAOS RegistryInsights® platform, you can compare your results to performance across the country, supporting highly informed decision-making and quality improvement.
The American Joint Replacement Registry (AJRR) 
Created in 2009, AJRR has grown to be the world’s largest national registry of hip and knee replacement data by annual procedural count, with more than 1.5 million procedures contained within its database.
AJRR’s unique multi-disciplinary governance model is made up of surgeons; hospital, industry, and provider representatives, and members of the public – all to ensure that the needs and voice of each group are represented. By collecting and reporting data, the AJRR provides actionable information to guide physicians and patient decision making to improve care. It empowers health care organizations to enhance the patient experience and benchmark performance; orthopaedic surgeons to reduce complications and revision rates; and device manufacturers to strengthen post-market surveillance.
To learn more about AJRR's pricing and the onboarding process, click here.
Musculoskeletal Tumor (MsT) Registry Pilot 
In December 2018, the AAOS Board of Directors and its Registry Oversight Committee (ROC) initiated a Registry pilot project, in collaboration with the Musculoskeletal Tumor Society (MSTS), for data covering tumor procedures. This is a feasibility pilot for capturing information about orthopaedic oncology in a structured and scalable way. This year-long effort involves six pilot sites at major U.S. academic centers. Listed below are the sites and the key surgeon lead at each.
Data elements will include but are not limited to patient demographics, patient baseline and examination, tumor baseline, treatment and post-treatment, and surgery detail along with postoperative data (oncologic failure, surgery complication, vital status) and patient-reported outcomes as conveyed in applicable instruments.
All slots for the Pilot have been filled. Organizations interested in more information about future participation opportunities can sign up here to be contacted when more information becomes available.
The MsT Registry is committed to improving patient care through the collection, analysis, and reporting of actionable data. Your support can help in our mission. To donate to the MsT Registry, click here.
For more information about the pilot read these FAQs.
The Shoulder & Elbow Registry (SER) 
Launched in 2018, the AAOS Board of Directors through its ROC chose shoulder and elbow to be the second anatomical area to expand into the Registry Program. Working in collaboration with the specialty societies, the Academy created this Registry to collect shoulder and elbow procedural data in the U.S. in order to establish survivor curves, track revisions, and improve the quality of care for all patients.
There are more than 750,000 shoulder arthroplasty, rotator cuff repair, and elbow arthroplasty surgeries performed in the United States each year. An evidence-based registry, like the SER, is a cost-effective way to benchmark risk-adjusted data, and provide greater context to patient outcomes comparisons. Identifying improvement needs can potentially mitigate surgical revisions which could lead to millions of dollars in stakeholder savings annually.
To learn more about SER's pricing, data elements, and the onboarding process visit www.aaos.org/registries/ser.
The Academy is committed to growing and expanding the AAOS Registry Program. More anatomical areas will be added in the near future. To keep abreast on everything Registry related, visit our blog here and subscribe to email updates.
Problem:
Sites have little or no access to current statistics and national averages on orthopaedic surgeries.
Solution:
Registry Program data enables national, regional, and local benchmarking, supporting quality improvement.
Track and monitor orthopaedic outcomes within your site as well as compare your site against national benchmark data.
“Understanding variations in care, complications, and utilization is critical to improving quality and patient safety while reducing costs, and the American Joint Replacement Registry is yet another tool to help us along that road.”
Erin K. Almeda, Director, Orthopaedic Program Development
Concord Hospital
Concord, N.H.
Problem:
Surgeons need access to their patient data so they can identify those at risk of poor clinical outcomes.
Solution:
The ability to compare patient data against national benchmarks improves patient follow up and intervention and enables more informed decision-making about at-risk patients.
Apply performance gap analysis and patient outlier identification to your data, helping to reduce complications and revision rates.
“We recognize the importance of data collection to improve patient outcomes at the local and national level.”
Richard L. Illgen II, MD
Co-director of the Arthritis and Joint Replacement Program
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
Member AJRR Data Committee
Madison, Wis.
Problem:
Patients may never be informed about a recall of a specific implant.
Solution:
The Registry Program monitors advisory notices and notifies sites about recalls so that they can alert affected patients.
By focusing on capturing data on primary procedures and revisions conducted in the United States, we provide early detection capabilities for identifying poorly performing implants.
“AJRR provides a system for tracking patients and receiving feedback that will improve our understanding of joint replacements and patient outcomes.”
Eric M. Boyden, MD, Medical Director of Arthroplasty Services for Renown Regional Medical Center; and Medical Director, Joint Replacement Services Program
St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center
Reno, Nev.
Participation in the AAOS Registry Program has many benefits including assistance with several federal quality initiatives, insurer’s distinction programs, and state collaboratives. These programs provide reimbursements and other incentives for displaying improvement in the quality of patient care, prompting medical sites to use clinical data registries like ours to compare outcomes success.
Learn more about the benefits of participating in our Registry Program
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