Disease Registries: Improving Care and Lowering Costs From H and H Networks

By Matthew Weinstock

Effective use of disease registries could dramatically improve clinical outcomes and reduce health care costs, according to a study published yesterday in Health Affairs. Researchers from the Boston Consulting Group and three Swedish institutions studied 13 registries from Australia, Denmark, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the U.S. and interviewed 32 health care professionals to assess not just the application of registries, but their effectiveness.

They found that "by making outcome data transparent to both practitioners and the public, well-managed registries enable medical professionals to engage in continuous learning and to identify and share best clinical practices. The apparent result: improved health outcomes, often at lower cost. For example, we calculate that if the United States had a registry for hip replacement surgery comparable to one in Sweden that enabled reductions in the rates at which these surgeries are performed a second time to replace or repair hip prostheses, the United States would avoid $2 billion of an expected $24 billion in total costs for these surgeries in 2015."

For the full article please go here.