American Joint Replacement Registry develops
turnkey pathway for reporting
patient-aggregated, deidentified, site- and surgeon-level
data
ROSEMONT, Ill., May 20, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS)
announced a formal collaboration with Blue Cross and Blue Shield
Association (BCBSA) to allow consenting participants' quality
outcomes data from the American Joint Replacement Registry (AJRR)
to be used by BCBSA for evaluating current and prospective Blue
Distinction® Centers (BDC) for Knee and Hip Replacement.
As part of the collaboration, AAOS will provide a pathway for
reporting patient-aggregated, deidentified, site- and surgeon-level
data from consenting AJRR participants, if opted in, to BCBSA on a
recurring quarterly basis. The metrics will be used by BCBSA as
part of the process that evaluates and designates qualifying sites
as higher-quality institutions for knee and hip
replacement.
Read more about this first-of-its-kind collaboration for the
AAOS Registry Program here.
"The Blue Distinction Centers for Knee and Hip Replacement
designations is a national recognition for expertise in delivering
specialty care, given to hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers
that meet a series of objective quality measures," said
Erin Barney, vice president of
network solutions, Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. "Our
relationship with AAOS allows seamless access to performance
measure reports from consenting AJRR registry participants. We will
include that data as part of our designation evaluations for this
Blue Distinction program. The BDC designation, in turn, will help
guide patients to find higher-quality, higher-value healthcare
facilities that best fit their specialty care needs."
Starting in June, consenting AJRR sites can submit performance
metrics via the BCBSA BD Portal® survey tool or the AAOS
Registry Program. AAOS registry participation will be the sole
pathway for performance measure submission with future designation
evaluations under these two BDC programs.
"AAOS' relationship with BCBSA makes it possible for those who
opt in to this program, through the AJRR, to seek and maintain the
Blue Distinction specialty care designation," said James I. Huddleston, III, MD, FAAOS, chair of
the AJRR Steering Committee. "By creating pathways for BCBSA to
seamlessly evaluate well-vetted, high-quality data, the AAOS
Registry Program is advancing the utility and transparency of
registry outcomes data. Together, we are positively impacting the
future of patient care."
AAOS Registry Program
The AAOS Registry Program's mission is to improve orthopaedic care
through the collection, analysis, and reporting of actionable data.
The American Joint Replacement Registry (AJRR), the Academy's hip
and knee replacement registry, is the cornerstone of the AAOS's
Registry Program, and the world's largest national registry of hip
and knee joint replacement data by annual procedural count, with
more than 3 million procedures contained within its database.
Additional registries include the Fracture & Trauma Registry
(FTR), the Musculoskeletal Tumor Registry (MsTR), the
Shoulder & Elbow Registry (SER), and the American Spine
Registry (ASR), a collaborative effort between the American
Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) and the AAOS.
About Blue Distinction Centers
Blue Distinction
Centers (BDC) met overall quality measures, developed with input
from the medical community. A Local Blue Plan may require
additional criteria for providers located in its own service area;
for details, contact your Local Blue Plan. Blue Distinction
Centers+ (BDC+) also met cost measures that address consumers' need
for affordable healthcare. Each provider's cost of care is
evaluated using data from its Local Blue Plan. Providers in CA, ID,
NY, PA, and WA may lie in two Local Blue Plans' areas, resulting in
two evaluations for cost of care; and their own Local Blue Plans
decide whether one or both cost of care evaluation(s) must meet
BDC+ national criteria. National criteria for BDC and BDC+ are
displayed on www.bcbs.com. Individual outcomes may vary. For
details on a provider's in-network status or your own policy's
coverage, contact your Local Blue Plan and ask your provider before
making an appointment. Neither Blue Cross and Blue Shield
Association nor any Blue Plans are responsible for noncovered
charges or other losses or damages resulting from Blue Distinction
or other provider finder information or care received from Blue
Distinction or other providers.
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SOURCE American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons