The American Joint Replacement Registry (AJRR) has introduced a new risk-adjusted revision rate measure that provides orthopedic surgeons and quality officers with more equitable and meaningful feedback on revision rates. Accessible on RegistryInsights, the risk adjustment model was developed in collaboration with Avant-garde Health and underwent expert review and validation by biostatistician Isabella Zaniletti, Ph.D., of IZ Statistics LLC. This combined effort ensured the measure’s methodological rigor and reliability, reinforcing AJRR’s commitment to advancing high-quality data that can help improve orthopedic outcomes.

“Our work with Avant-garde Health and Dr. Zaniletti marks an important step in advancing the utility of AJRR data,” AJRR Steering Committee Chair James I. Huddleston III, M.D., said. “By incorporating risk-adjusted revision rates, we’re enabling equitable comparisons across surgeons and institutions, accounting for the unique patient populations varying practices may serve and guiding more informed clinical decision making to improve care for patients.”

As surgeons treat increasingly complex patient populations, risk-adjusted data offers a clearer picture of procedural outcomes. This empowers surgeons to make informed decisions, improve patient care, and track outcomes with greater confidence specific to the patient populations they serve. The new AJRR measure accounts for risk adjustment accounting for specific attributes that may inform outcomes, such as age, co-morbidities, and other risk factors that influence revision rates independently of surgical technique, helping to level the playing field and support objective benchmarking.

“There is no question that accurate interpretation of patient outcomes cannot be made without an objective measure of risk adjustment. We are proud to share this advancement in the utility of AJRR data to help further enhance the validity and interpretability of its data to help surgeons identify true performance variations rather than differences driven by patient selection. Consequently, risk-adjusted data provides a robust foundation for improving surgical practice, informing patient care, and informing practice guidelines,” Avant-garde Health Chief Medical Officer Porter Jones, M.D., stated.

The Risk-adjusted Revision Rate measure currently is available to AJRR participants. To become involved with the AJRR, visit www.aaos.org/registries.

The AAOS Registry Program aims to improve orthopedic 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 4 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. 

With more than 39,000 members, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons is the world’s largest medical association of musculoskeletal specialists. The AAOS advances musculoskeletal health, providing comprehensive education to help orthopedic surgeons and allied health professionals best treat patients. The AAOS is the source for information on bone and joint conditions, treatments, and related musculoskeletal health care issues; and it leads the health care discussion on advancing quality.

Avant-garde Health provides hospitals, surgery centers, and physicians with AI-driven analytics and step-by-step action plans to improve the cost, quality, and efficiency of patient care. Additionally, Avant-garde helps hospitals succeed in bundled payment programs. Avant-garde’s solutions provide granular, actionable data, enabling providers to quickly identify opportunities for operational and financial improvement.