METHODS: We conducted a literature search of papers addressing PRO use in national knee and hip arthroplasty registries, resulting in 15 articles. These publications were supplemented by discussions with thought leaders from international registries. WHERE ARE WE NOW?: Some national TJA registries are collecting PROs and valuable research is emerging. However, challenges exist, such as selecting suitable PROs, selection bias in countries without government-mandated participation for all hospitals, and challenges with missing data. WHERE DO WE NEED TO GO?: The ideal system will incorporate PROs into TJA registries. In so doing, it will be important to choose suitable PROs and develop innovative methods to collect PROs to ensure complete data and sustainability. HOW DO WE GET THERE?: New methods are required to meet the challenges related to registry design, logistics of PRO collection, and registry cost and sustainability. Modifications to the traditional hospital- and implant-centric design and new procedures to collect complete data from both patients and clinicians may be necessary. For instance, England and Wales, New Zealand, and Sweden developed methods to collect PROs after TJA directly from patients and a US TJA registry collects PROs as the primary outcome. Finally, to assure long-term sustainability, PRO data must be valuable to multiple stakeholders, including patients, clinicians, researchers, and policy makers.
PMID: 23897504 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Read more... http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23897504?dopt=Abstract
