Mr. Paul Haisman
AJRR Chief Technology Officer
Welcome Paul Haisman, AJRR's First Chief Technology Officer

We are pleased to announce the hiring of Mr. Paul Haisman as the AJRR's first Chief Technology Officer. He began in his position on May 2.

Mr. Haisman received his Bachelor of Science in Applied Computer Science at Illinois State University with a minor in Economics. He earned his Master of Business Administration Magna cum laude at Hodges University, and since then has been working in leadership positions at Information Technology (IT) Departments around the country. As Vice President of IT for the national office of YMCA (Y-USA) in Chicago, his occupation included a strong concentration supporting several national health and wellness programs such as diabetes prevention, childhood obesity, tobacco cessation, falls prevention, cancer survivorship, and arthritis management. These programs were established and overseen by Y-USA while being implemented by YMCA associations. The YMCA is a healthcare provider and issued National Provider Identifier (NPI) and Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes for several of these programs.

Mr. Haisman recently worked on projects related to introducing a health management system that dealt with HIPAA regulations, electronic health records (EHR), and personally identifiable information (PII) management best practices. In addition, he is very familiar with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) compliance measures and has experience operating under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) regulations. Paul made Y-USA current in terms of systems and infrastructure and drove a lot of change in the organization.
 
Prior to the YMCA, Mr. Haisman worked at Source Interlink in Bonita Springs, FL, a rapidly growing wholesale distribution company for print material. They had about 10,000 desktops throughout the company, roughly 600 servers, and five data centers. As Director of IT Services at Source Interlink, Mr. Haisman also updated and upgraded technology - he revamped and consolidated data centers and streamlined IT operations. He has also worked at companies such as General Electric Co., Acxiom Corporation, and his own internet web technology development and consulting service called Haisman Media & Technology. Mr. Haisman was a 2013 inductee to the Academy of Achievement at Illinois State University College of Applied Science and Technology (CAST), and is certified as a Microsoft Certified System Engineer (MCSE), Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA), and a Six Sigma Quality Certification Green Belt.
 
We are excited to begin working with Mr. Haisman, and know that he will be a great spokesperson for our technology.
Customer Service Role Expands

AJRR Program Assistants from left to right:
Ms. Maria Gomes, Ms. Jill Philbin, and Ms. Monica Moore

There have been several new staff members brought on in the past month; in addition to the hiring of Paul Haisman, our Marketing and Communications Department added three new positions to help with customer service activities for our participating hospitals, private practice groups, and surgery centers. On May 2, we welcomed Program Assistants Ms. Monica Moore, Ms. Jill Philbin, and Ms. Maria Gomes. 

For institutions that are working to get a business agreement signed with their region's Program Coordinator, the Program Assistants are the ones that will prepare them for training and provide the necessary information for the next steps in the data submission process. They will each be delivering customer service to a specific region. Ms. Moore will be assisting Phil Dwyer with the West region, Ms. Philbin will help out Savana Martin with the East region, and Ms. Gomes will lend a hand to Alyssa Burns with the Central region.

Platform's 38 Measures Advance 
Orthopaedic Quality Reporting

In April we aligned our quality initiatives and reporting with the American Orthopaedic Association (AOA) and the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons (AAHKS) in
the form of the AJRR Orthopaedic Quality Resource Center. Our Orthopaedic 
Quality Resource Center is operated on the CECity Medconcert platform, and helps eligible professionals (EPs) submit Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) measures. Since the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has once again designated AJRR as a Qualified Clinical Data Registry (QCDR), AJRR is able to help physicians with PQRS, a CMS program.
 
Additional measures have been added to the AJRR Orthopaedic Quality Resource Center in order to support AOA and AAHKS programs. Two post-fracture PQRS measures will be added to cater to AOA's Own the Bone program, and five custom measures documenting process and outcomes for hip arthroplasty will be included in order to address the 
needs of AAHKS members. This brings the grand total to 38 PQRS and custom measures in 2016.
 
We were the first orthopaedic registry to earn QCDR designation back in 2014 when the PQRS reporting mechanism was introduced. Every year since then, we have received QCDR designation thanks to our partnership with CECity, a leading provider of cloud-based registry platforms for performance improvement, value-based payment, and professionalism. As more organizations work together on creating a more comprehensive platform, the AJRR Orthopaedic Quality Resource Center will become applicable to a wider audience of surgeons and lead to a higher quality of care for patients in the US.

For more information on AJRR's Orthopaedic Quality Resource Center, click here.
Data Chat

This past month, we published a new and improved data section on our website! Titled "All About the Data," this updated page provides previously unavailable information like the list of our technology partners. Additionally, the new data section combines other areas of our website into a singular location, allowing for easier navigation. An overview of AJRR data elements and information on ICD-10, topics previously found in different sections, are now included in this new location. This new page is great for current and potential Registry users that are interested in learning more about our data requirements and who to contact with questions.
 
For information on our data in its new centralized location, click here.
Technology Partner Profile

This month we're introducing a new section called "Technology Partner Profile." Each subsequent volume of The Register will feature a summary of a different technology vendor that is capable of submitting data to the AJRR.
 
Company Name: [m]pirik

Company Website:
www.mpirik.com 
 
AJRR Vendor Since: November 2015
 
General Description: [m]pirik is a healthcare technology company focusing on measuring and improving value in orthopaedics. Through their orthopedic care and data management platform, they aim to help care for and collect necessary data from the moment the patient walks in the door until the patient has reached his/her clear period. [m]pirik uses both patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) and registry information to identify variables to help improve patient outcomes. They aim to gather a complete picture of a patient's journey to recovery by enabling healthcare professionals with intuitive data collection methods.
 
Components Offered: The [m]pirik Ortho[m]atrix platform offers three different components for their users to choose from. Ortho[m]etrics serves as the data hub, collecting PROMS and registry information. Ortho[m]etrics improves patient outcomes by executing correlation studies to determine the best form of treatment. Ortho[m]essage enhances patient communication by sending information through SMS and email reminders before and after surgery. Ortho[m]easure is a 3D motion detection system that can help measure a patient's progress by measuring a patient's strength and range of motion, and can be operated without the presence of a physician. By integrating with their client's electronic health record (EHR) and giving full access to collected data, [m]pirik empowers hospital administrators and doctors to make better clinical and economical decisions.
 
Integration with AJRR: [m]pirik has integrated a data field drop within their platform, making it easy and seamless for file transfer of data to the AJRR.
 
Fun Fact: [m]pirik was founded by a practicing orthopaedic surgeon and their name, [m]pirik, was inspired by the Empirical Formula, the simplest formula for a compound.

For more information on [m]pirik, contact them at info@mpirik.com

A full list of AJRR's Technology Partners can be found here.
Data Corner


Our 2014 Annual Report has a wealth of information on procedural and component data. Figure 14 (pictured above) contains some interesting findings. Osteoarthritis was the diagnosis at the time of surgery for more than three out of four patients undergoing hip arthroplasty. Fractured femoral neck was the next most common, accounting for one in 10 arthroplasties performed. Rheumatoid arthritis, a very common diagnosis for total hip arthroplasty in the past, now accounts for a mere fraction of one percent of these procedures. This is undoubtedly due to the dramatic effect newer medical options - including disease modifying drugs - have had on preserving joint function in the rheumatoid patient.
 
Please note that the number of diagnosis codes does not equal the number of procedure codes because data may reflect a diagnosis code that does not match the procedure code (e.g., hip diagnosis for knee procedure). If that occurs but the components match the procedure code, we do not count the diagnosis code.
 
Slides with all the tables and figures from the 2014 Annual Report can be found on our website.
Class Dismissed: "Registry Participation 101" in Review

On April 19, one of our technology partners, Wellbe, Inc., sponsored a webinar called "Registry Participation 101: A Simple Step-by-Step Guide to Understanding What You Really Need to Know from AJRR." It was well attended; over 230 people were registered for the event. The session featured Unet Member Joe Greene from the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics and AJRR staff members as presenters. Feedback on the webinar was positive, and one person rated it as the best webinar that OrthoServiceLine.com, the educational arm of Wellbe, Inc., ever provided.
 
"Registry Participation 101" began with an explanation of clinical data registries - who uses their information and what their value is - from AJRR Program Coordinator Phil Dwyer. Phil then segued into a description of AJRR to provide an example of a clinical data registry, pointing out our mission and vision and the different features we offer. Joe Greene picked up after that, and explained his experience with the acquisition of PROMs at his institution. He provided a detailed view on the different factors that influenced his institution's decisions and how they were successful in implementing PROMs. AJRR Senior Registry Analyst September Cahue followed with an overview of our Level III PRO platform and workflow, and AJRR Director of Analytics Caryn Etkin discussed the multiple quality initiatives that Registries like us can assist institutions and individual physicians with. The webinar ended with a question and answer session that addressed the concerns of attendees and resolved any confusion they might have had.
 
If you missed the webinar but would still like more information on the topics, click here for access to the recording and slides from the presentation.
Upcoming Webinars

Introductory Webinars
AJRR staff continues to host introductory webinars for those who are interested in joining the Registry and would like a basic overview of what we offer. If your institution resides in one of the CJR metropolitan statistical areas, this webinar should be of special interest to you! Introductory webinars will be held at the following times this year:
To register for one of these sessions, click here.
 
Previous Webinars

Patient-Reported Outcomes Informational Webinar
Our Analytics team hosted an informational webinar about the AJRR Level III/patient-reported outcomes (PRO) platform on both December 9, 2015 and January 6, 2016. Recommended PRO measures were discussed, as well as the reasons for why starting a PRO data collection program is beneficial. Our Director of IT demonstrated how to use the new dashboard system, and along with the Analytics team, fielded questions on how to get started reporting. To listen to a recording of the webinar, click here. To view the slides, click here.
 
Recordings and slides from all other previously held webinars can be found on our website
Our Newest Hospitals

We've welcomed these participants into the Registry since the last volume of
The Register:

#675 - Texas Health Presbyterian Flower Mound in Flower Mound, TX
#676 - Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg, VA
#677 - South Shore Hospital in South Weymouth, MA
#678 - Animas Surgical Hospital in Durango, CO
#679 - Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital in Valencia, CA
#680 - Mississippi Baptist Medical Center in Jackson, MS
#681 - St. Mary Mercy Livonia
#682 - St. Joseph Mercy Chelsea
#683 - St. Joseph Mercy Oakland
#684 - St. Joseph Mercy Livingston
#685 - St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor
#686 - University Hospitals Portage Medical Center in Ravenna, OH
#687 - Orthopedic and Sports Surgery Center of Appleton, WI
#688 - St. Croix Regional Medical Center in St. Croix Falls, WI
#689 - Good Shepherd Medical Center in Longview, TX

AJRR currently has 689 participating hospitals in all 50 states! Click here for a full list of all participating sites.

AJRR in the News

AJRR's collaboration with AOA and AAHKS to align quality initiatives and reporting through the AJRR Orthopaedic Quality Resource Center received media coverage with the articles below:


For a press release on this topic and more, click here.

Special Thanks to All of Our Contributors!
  
The Register is the official newsletter of the American Joint Replacement Registry serving to connect the orthopaedic community. For questions, comments, or concerns, please contact Erik Michalesko, Marketing and Communications Specialist at michalesko@ajrr.net

The Register editor: Erik Michalesko

�2016. All rights reserved.

 


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