VA looks to launch largest US medical implant registry

The US Department of Veterans Affairs is looking to launch the largest medical device implant tracking registry in the US with collaborative help from the FDA, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Department of Defense, according to a Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society report.

The VA hopes that, with the help of the FDA, CMS and DoD, its new registry will allow it to monitor the safety of devices in both Veterans and their families, as well as tracking quality metrics and improving care, according to the report.

“The implant registry collaboration with U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Department of Defense and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will enable VA to monitor the safety of devices in Veterans and their families, track quality metrics and ensure the best possible care for patients. Further, a medical device registry will allow VA to notify patients about safety recalls, identify devices when patients show up for medical emergencies with complications and track and compare outcomes of implants. The most common medical devices in the Veteran population may include: cardiac implants (valves, pacemakers, stents), orthopedic implants (hip and knee) and neurosurgical implants,” the VA wrote in an announcement earlier this month.

The announcement, made last week at a national VA summit, was met with a number of comments and recommendations intended to ensure the long-term health of the registry, kindling linking the registry data to other sources, such as electronic health records or insurance claims, RAPS reports.

Last month, the Department of Veteran’s Affairs approved a $10 billion, 10-year contract with Cerner Corp. (NSDQ:CERN) to implement an electronic health record system, which Acting VA Secretary Robert Wilkie called one of the largest IT contracts in the federal government.

With the deal, the VA will switch from its internally developed VistA system to off-the-shelf Cerner solutions with the goal of making veteran’s medical history available through a single EHR system.

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