J. Molin, A REGIONAL PERINATAL DATABASE IN SOUTHERN SWEDEN - A BASIS FOR QUALITY ASSURANCE IN OBSTETRICS AND NEONATOLOGY, Acta obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica, 76, 1997, pp. 37-39
Background In order to ensure as few avoidable adverse outcomes of pre
gnancy as possible, it is necessary to continuously evaluate the quali
ty of both obstetric and neonatal care. The eleven southernmost hospit
als in Sweden have joined together if a project of developing a region
al database, with special emphasis on rapid output of information in o
rder to identify changing trends. Methods. A regional computerized dat
abase has been developed, collecting variables and quality indicators
agreed upon by all participants. Specific protocols have been designed
for obstetric care, neonatal care and autopsy findings. All participa
ting units transfer information on paper forms or via local computeriz
ed information systems. The regional database thus receives data on ab
out 20,000 deliveries annually. Results. Data collection started on Se
ptember 1, 1994. The first results are due in March 1996, and thereaft
er on a regular basis every 3 months. Special methods for rapid analys
is of raw data have been developed with the help of commercially avail
able data analysis tools. Conclusions. It is possible to construct an
information system with different computer platforms and different dat
abase tools at each participating facility as long as the database sys
tems are locally controllable. That a software is commercially availab
le is no guarantee that data transfer to a central database is possibl
e. Experience from participating sites also indicates that a specializ
ed database is needed for registering obstetric data, as general compu
terized record-keeping systems are unable to cope with an event concer
ning more than one subject at a time.