Lee Breakwell, audit lead for BASS, consultant orthopaedic spinal surgeon, Northern General Hospital, Sheffield, UK, announced the registry at the recent Britspine conference (2–4 May, Gateshead, UK). He explained that the registry, led by Ashley Cole, adult and paediatric spinal surgery, Northern General Hospital, Sheffield, UK, and Breakwell, will be a web-based database for UK-based spinal surgeons to enter details on patients’ spinal problems, the procedures performed, and the outcomes of the procedures.
He told Spinal News International that patients will be able to complete questionnaires at homes, electronically, or at the clinic. He added: “All data will be secure, and only if a patient gives explicit consent will their data be available for review. All audits will be anonymised to protect patients, but will enable me—as audit lead for BASS―to present the collated figures to the British spine world.”
According to Breakwell, the data from the registry will be used in a multitude of ways, including: for audit and revalidation (by individual surgeons), for discussion with individual patients about their treatment path, for trainees to keep a log, and to assess their training, for departments to look at figures, and for BASS to look at the national picture.
The registry, which launches on 28th May, will follow in the footsteps of the already established National Joint Registry and the Scandinavian Spine Registry. As BASS created and commissioned the registry, its use is restricted to BASS members only. However, any UK-based spinal surgeon can become a member of BASS. For more information, click here.
