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AAOS, AJRR create orthopedic database

The Rosemont, IL-based American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) in mid-October announced plans to create a national family of clinical data registries for a broad range of orthopedic conditions and procedures.

As part of this effort, the American Joint Replacement Registry (AJRR) is integrating into the AAOS effective immediately. The AJRR, also based in Rosemont, is a national hip and knee joint replacement registry with 970 participating US hospitals and 40 ambulatory surgery centers, and has captured and analyzed data on more than one million procedures since its creation in 2010.

The AJRR will serve as the hip and knee registries for AAOS, continue to operate business as usual without interruption for existing participating sites, and retain the AJRR name. Additional AAOS registries will launch beginning in mid-to-late 2018 and over the next five years, covering a broad range of conditions and procedures and including data from outpatient and inpatient settings.

In other AAOS news, the organization in November applauded the Centers for Medi­care and Medicaid Services for removing total knee arthroplasty from the Medicare inpatient-only list in conjunction with its finalization of the Outpatient Pros­pective Payment System and Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) Payment System rule.

Although CMS is not adding total knee arthroplasty to the ASC-covered surgical procedures list for 2018, the AAOS is encouraged by the progress announced in the final rule and will work closely with CMS in the interest of making that next step happen as soon as possible, according to an AAOS release.

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