Greater use of disease registries could have a significant impact on lowering healthcare costs in the U.S., according to a new study published in the journal Health Affairs. This may become more feasible as more physicians begin to adopt electronic health records.

A team of researchers from Boston Consulting Group analyzed the experiences of countries like Australia, Sweden, Denmark and the UK in instituting disease registries. These systems provide online resources for doctors to share patient information, discuss best practices and learn from others' experiences.

The results showed that disease registries led to significant improvements in care quality in these countries and eliminated substantial costs. For example, Sweden leads the way in disease registries, with one of the most successful being its hip replacement surgery registry. The researchers said that if the U.S. started such a program it could drastically reduce the rate of repeat surgeries, saving about $2 billion per year.

"By identifying variations in outcomes within the same population, registries make it possible to benchmark and assess comparative performance at the clinic, regional, national or even international level," said lead author of the report Stefan Larsson.