A Surgeon Scorecard Is Associated with Improved Value in Elective Primary Hip and Knee Arthroplasty.

Background: Despite increasing interest in total joint arthroplasty registries, evidence of the impact of physician-level performance on the value of care provided to patients undergoing hip and knee arthroplasty is lacking. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of an unblinded orthopaedic surgeon-specific value scorecard in improving patient outcomes and reducing hospital costs.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed patient outcomes and hospital costs associated with total joint arthroplasties before and 9 months after the introduction of a Surgeon Value Scorecard at an urban tertiary care center.

Procurement of shared data instruments for Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap).

REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture) is a web-based software solution and tool set that allows biomedical researchers to create secure online forms for data capture, management and analysis with minimal effort and training. The Shared Data Instrument Library (SDIL) is a relatively new component of REDCap that allows sharing of commonly used data collection instruments for immediate study use by research teams. Objectives of the SDIL project include: (1) facilitating reuse of data dictionaries and reducing duplication of effort; (2) promoting the use of validated data collection instruments, data standards and best practices; and (3) promoting research collaboration and data sharing.

Do daily stress processes account for socioeconomic health disparities?

Objectives: The present study examined the extent to which daily stressor severity and appraisals of the stressors accounted for socioeconomic disparities in health.

Methods: Data from the National Study of Daily Experiences and the Midlife in the United States Survey were combined for the current analyses, resulting in 1,031 respondents who reported on 7,229 days.

Results: Respondents without a high school degree experienced more severe stressors and appraised stressors as posing greater risk to their financial situation and to their self-concept than respondents with a high school or college degree.