Feb. 17, 2015 – Gwen Gratto-Cox was recently named Champion of the
Quarter by the American Joint Replacement Registry (AJRR). Champions are
recognized for their outstanding cooperation and professionalism while
helping to implement the registry into their institutions. The Southeast
Georgia Health System has been an AJRR participant since 2012. The registry
initially collected only procedural and implant information and is in
the process of expanding the database to include comorbidities, complications and
patient reported
outcomes.
A Health System team member since 2012, Ms. Gratto-Cox coordinates the
research activities of Summit Sports Medicine & Orthopaedic Surgery
and Southeast Georgia Physician Associates-
Hematoloy
& Oncology, as well as quality initiatives such as the AJRR and the
American Orthopaedic Association’s Own the Bone Program, a quality
improvement program to address the osteoporosis treatment gap and prevent
subsequent fragility fractures.
“The AJRR dashboards provide this nation’s
orthopaedic
community with a versatile and invaluable tool that helps improve patient
care, outcomes, and clinical decision making. The database, with the option
to enter data electronically, manually, or a combination of both, is well
suited for use with electronic health record systems of varying capability,”
says Gratto-Cox.
This recognition is the latest indication of the success achieved through
a cooperative effort by Research, Quality, Information Systems, Medical
Staff, and Administration team members. “The entire team joins me
in offering Ms. Cox congratulations for achieving this recognition,” says
J. Melvin Deese, M.D., board-certified
orthopaedic
surgeon and medical director, Southeast Georgia Health System Orthopedic
& Spine Center.
The goal of the American Joint Replacement Registry is to foster a national
center for data collection and research on total hip and knee replacement
with far-reaching benefits to society including reduced morbidity and
mortality, improved patient safety, improved quality of care and medical
decision-making, reduced medical spending, and advances in orthopedic
science and bioengineering.