If your organization plans to earn or maintain Blue Distinction for Knee & Hip Replacement or Spine Surgery, now is the time to evaluate your PROs reporting readiness.
Future Blue Cross Blue Shield Blue Distinction evaluations for Knee & Hip Replacement and Spine Surgery will rely on registry-submitted data through the American Joint Replacement Registry (AJRR) and the American Spine Registry (ASR), making registry readiness an increasingly important part of a successful application.
Blue Distinction and Blue Distinction+ are nationally recognized designations that help hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers demonstrate their commitment to high-quality orthopedic care. For many organizations, the designation supports market differentiation, strengthens payer and employer relationships, enhances physician recruitment, and helps patients identify facilities recognized for specialty care.
As Blue Distinction moves to registry-based reporting through AJRR and ASR, orthopedic leaders have an opportunity to evaluate whether their current data collection, validation, and reporting workflows are prepared for the transition.
What Is Changing for Blue Distinction?
Historically, organizations had flexibility in how they collected, managed, and reported the patient-reported outcomes (PROs) data supporting a Blue Distinction application. Moving forward, AJRR and ASR will serve as the required pathway for performance measure submission.
The focus remains on delivering high-quality orthopedic care. What’s changing is the standardized, registry-based pathway used to report the data supporting that evaluation. Future Blue Distinction evaluations for:
- Knee & Hip Replacement will use data submitted through AJRR
- Spine Surgery will use data submitted through ASR
For orthopedic leaders, the conversation is shifting beyond simply collecting PROs. The focus is now on whether existing workflows consistently produce the complete procedure data, post-discharge data, and other registry-required information needed to support successful AJRR or ASR submissions.
Why This Matters
Blue Distinction and Blue Distinction+ are nationally recognized quality designations that can strengthen:
- Hospital reputation
- Commercial payer relationships
- Employer partnerships
- Physician recruitment
- Competitive differentiation
- Patient referrals
Some Blue plans offer benefit designs that encourage use of designated facilities through lower member cost-sharing. Benefits vary by plan.
What should hospitals review now for future Blue Distinction requirements?
Many organizations already administer patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) as part of their orthopedic program. The more important question is whether existing workflows consistently support complete, registry-ready reporting.
As organizations prepare for future evaluations, it’s worth asking:
- How are procedure data, PROMs, and post-discharge data collected today?
- Who owns the AJRR or ASR submission process?
- Is data reviewed and validated before submission?
- Where are manual steps creating additional work or risk?
- Are there opportunities to improve data completeness or operational efficiency?
- Has the required data-sharing consent been completed so registry performance measures can be shared with BCBSA?
The answers will vary from organization to organization, but understanding your current process now can help avoid surprises when the next evaluation cycle begins.
What Registry Readiness Looks Like
Registry readiness isn’t a single technology or software platform. It’s the ability to consistently produce complete, accurate data that support successful registry submissions.
That includes:
- Reliable patient identification
- Effective PROM collection workflows
- Complete procedure and post-discharge data
- Data validation and quality review
- Efficient registry submission processes
Organizations with well-defined operational workflows are often better positioned to adapt as reporting requirements continue to evolve. Registry readiness is one part of preparing for Blue Distinction. Earning or maintaining designation also depends on meeting applicable program criteria, including any additional requirements established by your local Blue Cross Blue Shield plan.
A Real-World Example
A community hospital located in the southeastern United States already had a strong commitment to measuring outcomes. Working with CODE helped simplify the operational side of PROM collection and AJRR/ASR reporting, making their registry submissions more efficient while supporting the hospital’s successful achievement of Blue Distinction Center for Spine Surgery and Blue Distinction Center+ for Knee & Hip Replacement.
Read the full story: The Faster Path to Blue Distinction: How One Hospital Turned Existing Outcome Data Into National Recognition
Will Your Current Registry Process Support Your Next Evaluation?
Whether your organization already participates in AJRR or ASR or is preparing for a future Blue Distinction evaluation, reviewing your process now gives your team time to address gaps in data collection, validation, and submission before they become obstacles in your next Blue Distinction evaluation.
Let CODE make registry reporting simpler for your team.
Whether you’re preparing for your first Blue Distinction application or working to maintain an existing designation, a readiness assessment can help your team identify opportunities before the next evaluation cycle opens.
During this collaborative assessment, CODE will help your team:
- Review your current PROM collection approach
- Evaluate your AJRR or ASR reporting workflow
- Identify opportunities to improve data completeness and operational efficiency
- Highlight potential workflow gaps before the next evaluation cycle
- Prioritize practical next steps based on your organization’s current state
You’ll leave with a clearer understanding of your organization’s readiness and a roadmap for strengthening your reporting process before your next Blue Distinction evaluation.
