Original Title: Terveydenhuollon erillisrekisterit : selvitys Suomessa ylläpidettävistä valtakunnallisista ja alueellisista potilasrekistereistä

Authors' objectives:

Beside the legally specified health care registers, several other patient registers are active in Finland. Previously no information has been available about their content or the authorities keeping them. This report aims to review the situation.

Authors' results and conclusions: Data were received from 10 registers specified by law, 28 national and 10 regional separate health care registers and several local health care unit registers.

Authors' recommendations: Registers are usually kept by large hospitals, which have started to compile them because the specialists need to monitor and improve care. The data are usually transferred from paper to a computer database and the accuracy of the data is checked in the process. Many registers are kept on personal computers, others form a part of the patient administration system. Some registers produce annual reports and others give out specific information by request in, e.g. articles, while some do not report at all. The need for a national, centralised register had become evident in many fields. Another issue that was considered important was national and international co-operation. Keeping patient registers was considered to be in the clients' interest and a part of health care services. In future, the development of the registers, their usefulness, and the possibilities of combining them should be considered. The utilisation of the registers could be enhanced by technical solutions, data standardisation and collaboration. It is necessary to outline quality criteria whereby the registers could be improved. Legal and ethical considerations must be taken into account in register work.

Authors' methods: Primary research

Project Status: Completed

Year Published: 1997

URL for published report: http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe201210159426

English language abstract: An English language summary is available

Publication Type: Not Assigned

Country: Finland

Organisation Name: Finnish Coordinating Center for Health Technology Assessment

Contact Address: Finnish Office for Health Care Technology Assessment (Finohta)

Contact Name: .

Contact Email: fincchta@ppshp.fi

Copyright: Finnish Office for Health Care Technology Assessment (FinOHTA)