Creation, Advantages, and Limits of Registries: The Herniamed Experience

Abstract

Several developments in healthcare, such as progress in information technology and increasing demands for accountability, have led to an increase in the number of medical registries over the recent years [1]. A medical registry is defined as a systematic collection of a clearly defined set of health and demographic data for patients with specific health characteristics, held in a central database for a predefined purpose [1]. Medical registries can serve different purposes—for instance, as a tool to monitor and improve quality of care and as a resource for outcome research [1]. The ultimate aim of the noncommercial project Herniamed, founded in 2009, is to improve quality standards across the entire spectrum of hernia surgery and to implement outcome research projects in hernia surgery [2]. With widespread recognition that surgical outcomes vary by provider, surgeons and hospitals are increasingly being asked to provide evidence of the quality of care that they deliver [3].