They are

• They are a leading consulting firm with a track record of successfully running major government programmes. AEAT won the tender to manage the National Joint Registry (NJR) which was a new initiative by the Department of Health (DOH).
• The NJR programme was established in 2002 to record all the hip and knee operations in England and Wales (over 100,000 operations every year). The decision to create the NJR was taken following a failure of a component used in several joint replacement operations. It was a precaution to enable patients, who have had faulty components implanted, to be traced.

They needed

• A national system to record details of joint replacement operations and their components.
• A system that enabled each participating hospital to quickly and securely enter details into a web based database.
• To monitor the performance of components used in replacement procedures.
• A secure mechanism for encrypting the patient identifying data so that it could be stored online with minimal risk.
• To display and report information to interested stakeholders including hospitals, surgeons and component suppliers
• To produce an Annual Report of the NJR.

We provided

• Advice on hosting and infrastructure.
• Design, implementation and maintenance of a safe and secure web based database.
• Easy and intuitive data-entry screens for surgeons and administrators.
• Barcode scanning support so that the components used in the procedure can be quickly and accurately input into the system.
• Sophisticated component validation methodology devised in conjunction with an expert on joint component implants. This takes into account which combinations of components can and cannot be used together and alerts the surgeons if their selections fail the validation.
• Asymmetric encryption to ensure the security of the sensitive patient data.
• Support to trainers and support staff
• Dynamic reporting to stakeholders

"Ian and Advent IT worked on delivering a major .Net project for the NHS, the work was of a high calibre and on time and more importantly on budget. The input in terms of business process was invaluable in making the project a success, far more than just development."

Ian Calcutt
IT Project Manager — National Joint Registry

And the end result?

• Surgeons and hospital staff input the procedural details of more than 100,000 hip and knee replacements a year.
• Components can be monitored for their durability and affected patients can be identified if a component is recalled.
• Hospitals and the DOH can evaluate joint replacement procedures and note any differential patterns of success between hospitals and surgeons.
• Surgeons can view the summary information about their procedures and use of components.
• Researchers and health economics professionals can conduct research in this essential area of medicine.
• Patients can read the NJR Annual report and feel assured that the suitability and performance of joint components is regularly monitored and assessed.