Electronic Data Capture through Total Joint Replacement Registries

The move toward adoption and implementation of electronic health records (EHR) provides an opportunity in the United States to use electronic clinical data (ECD) to better understand patient outcomes and to improve the quality and efficiency of medical care. Within the field of orthopedics, national joint replacement registries have been shown in other countries to improve clinical decision-making and outcomes after joint arthroplasty. Thus, there is increasing interest among U.S. clinical investigators and policymakers to utilize ECD to develop national and regional joint replacement registries. We discuss our experience with integrating electronic data capture and reporting methodology into the California Joint Replacement Registry and American Joint Replacement Registry initiatives. The use of ECD for joint replacement registries will better facilitate multi-stakeholder collaboration, improve the quality of care, reduce medical spending, and foster customized evidence-based clinical decision-making.