Abstract

Are the data in a large US electronic health record (EHR) complete and accurate enough to track trends in implant use and to assess the durability of implants (hereafter referred to as implant survivorship)? In this cohort study, EHR records of patients who had total hip arthroplasty in all Veterans Health Administration hospitals since 2000 were automatically reviewed using novel software; 80% to 95% of hip replacement components used since 2014 were accurately identified, trends in implant use matched known national trends, and known poor implants were found to be negative outliers. This suggests that automated analysis of the EHR provides a low-cost, low-overhead method to assess implant use and performance.