title: [Registries for implants and new interventions].
abstract: An increasing number of registries are being set up in healthcare. Their development is sometimes guided by an explicit desire to control the unknown, as with most registries initiated for new devices as part of coverage with evidence development schemes. By definition, registries cannot answer questions about the effectiveness of interventions. At best, they document the outcomes after the intervention; it will remain unknown what the outcome would have been with a different implant or device, or without one. Nonetheless, registries can provide useful information for other purposes: for documenting appropriate use, for monitoring complications and revisions, for comparing observed outcomes against predicted outcomes, and for comparing different types of devices used for the same purpose. Registries can also assist quality improvement efforts by participating professionals and healthcare organisations.
authors.affiliation: Academisch Medisch Centrum, Universiteit van Amsterdam, afd. Klinische Epidemiologie, Biostatistiek en Bio-informatica, Amsterdam.
authors.forename: Patrick M M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Bossuyt
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D011379:Prognosis; D019736:Prostheses and Implants; D058996:Quality Improvement; D012042:Registries; D016896:Treatment Outcome