Our goal is to improve women’s health care

Swedish National Quality Registries are databases or systems that collect and analyze information about health care and treatment to ensure and improve the quality of the health care. These registers can be used to follow up results, identify areas that need improvement and to support research in various medical fields. In this way, the quality of healthcare can be secured and made more equal throughout the country.

The Swedish National Quality Register of Gynecological Surgery (a.k.a GynOp) started in 1997 and consists of six independent and cooperative sub-registers. GynOp contains data collected before, during and after surgical treatment.

Before the surgery, or right after delivery, the patient answers a questionnaire containing questions about basic health and gynecological disorders. The doctor or midwife registers data about the patient’s medical status before the surgery, about the surgical procedure and the course of events until the patient leaves the hospital after the surgery. The patient also answers questionnaires two months and one year after the surgery. Questionnaires are sent on paper or electronically according to the patient’s preference.

The information gathered in GynOp is used for quality assurance, quality improvement and research. When systematically describing, measuring the results of, reporting, securing and developing implemented measures, quality of women’s health care can be maintained and equal.

Major changes have occurred in women’s health care the last years, and are important to study. Some of these changes are:

  • New surgical methods
  • Shorter length of hospital stay after surgery
  • Increased proportion of outpatient surgery
  • Increased proportion of minimal invasive surgery
  • Extent and value of using implants in surgery of pelvic organ prolapse or urinary incontinence
  • Better care of patients with a sphincter rupture in connection with childbirth

The results are published in yearly national reports and in scientific publications. GynOp also arranges several yearly national conferences for doctors, hospital administrators and midwives to facilitate discussion and quality improvement.

Extent

These surgical procedures are included:

  • Hysterectomies and other, larger uterine surgeries
  • Surgery of ovaries and fallopian tubes
  • Intrauterine surgery
  • Surgery of pelvic organ prolapse
  • Surgery and urethral injection therapy of urinary incontinence
  • Surgery of obstetric perineal tears

In December 31st 2023 more than 550 000 surgical procedures were included in the register. The number of participating hospitals is approximately 60, some clinics do not perform all kind of surgery. In the year of 2023 about 44 400 surgical procedures were added:

  • about 8 300 pelvic organ prolapse
  • about 3 600 urinary incontinence
  • about 5 500 ovaries and fallopian tubes
  • about 1 100 hysterectomies
  • about 2 600 hysterectomies and surgery of ovaries/fallopian tubes in the same procedure
  • about 9 700 intrauterine surgeries
  • about 11 800 obstetric perineal tear grade 2-4