Hospital's Joint Center Joins National Registry
October 12, 2012
By Kimberly Gensicki, 860-224-5900 X6507
The Hospital of Central Connecticut (HOCC) is one of two hospitals in Connecticut and one of 40 nationwide participating in the American Joint Replacement Registry (AJRR), a national organization designed to improve patient outcomes through data collection on total joint replacement procedures.
Data collected through this registry will help improve patient follow up and intervention and provide more comprehensive knowledge of the orthopedic devices patients receive. It will also support doctors’ decision making about patients’ timing of total joint procedures and rehabilitation to enhance their outcomes.
The AJRR serves as an information clearinghouse about joint replacements performed at hospitals and medical centers nationwide that participate in the registry. The AJRR aims to monitor the artificial joint throughout a recipient’s lifetime in a database containing information about the patient, his or her surgeon and the facility where the replacement took place. All registry data are confidential to protect patient privacy.
More than a million hip and knee replacements are performed annually in the U.S. Most are successful, offering patients years of trouble-free use. But according to 2006 figures, about 7.5 percent of patients experience problems following surgery and require artificial joint replacement. AJRR registry data will help doctors more quickly identify poorly performing joints, and help doctors match patients, procedures and devices to ensure every patient has the best experience possible.
“Joining the AJRR will help us continue to provide patients with the best care possible,” said Robert Carangelo, M.D., medical director, HOCC Joint Center. “By participating with other hospitals in sharing information about artificial joint performance and physician and patient experiences, we can help joint replacement procedures become safer nationwide, while optimizing our own patients’ experiences.”
For information about joint replacement surgery please call, HOCC’s Bone & Joint Center, 860.224.5186. Contact: Nancy Martin, 860.224.5900, ext. 4366.