The Council of Presidents, representing seven international orthopaedic associations, endorses the establishment and maintenance of national joint registries.
National joint registries provide a profile of joint replacement surgery in each country. Registries provide outcome data and help to identify risk factors for early failure and poor outcomes.
Registries should comply with local, federal, and state legislation regarding privacy, privilege, and discoverability and should be protected by relevant legislation.
Registries enhance the professional development of surgeons and improve patient safety. We support the universal professional participation of surgeons in national joint registries. Registry data are complex and require not only statistical analysis but also interpretation by skilled orthopaedic clinicians to ensure maximum benefit and improved patient outcomes. Outcomes should be peer reviewed.
Funding for joint registries has been accessed from federal or state funds, individual surgeon fees, implant company fees, third-party insurance reviews, and public donation. Such funding should be stable and without conflicts of interest.
We encourage the international exchange of data. We see the advantage of Internet-based systems with unique identifiers for implants.
This statement is issued in support of national joint registries because we recognize the importance of these registries in helping to optimize patient outcomes. We recognize that registries are in different stages of development in their various countries. In issuing this statement, we would like to promote the registries that are functioning well and at the same time encourage the development of comprehensive registries in the countries that do not yet possess them. We hope that this statement can be used to good effect by those establishing registries in their respective countries, both in convincing the relevant institutions of the importance of such registries and in their negotiations with their respective authorities. The Council of Presidents trusts that their collective support will lead to the establishment of such registries sooner rather than later, to the benefit of orthopaedics as a whole.
Our Associations are committed to providing ongoing support to national joint registries.