Bookmarkers beware: Bookmarks to pages other than the home page may not work after we change our server in April Editor's Choice | This Week in BMJ | Press releases BMJ No 7129 Volume 316 Letters Saturday 7 February 1998 British renal registry is fully electronic Editor, In his editorial on clinical databases Black did not mention the UK Renal Registry,(1) although it may be the most innovative and ambitious registry in the United Kingdom. The registry was established by the Renal Association in collaboration with the British Transplant Society and the British Association of Paediatric Nephrology, and it received priming support from the Department of Health. It has been set up to collect quarterly data on patients treated for end stage renal failure and has been carefully developed with the potential to collect data on patients with pre-end stage failure. This registry is the only national or international renal registry to use fully electronic data extraction and transmission. Unlike the intensive care registry, which collects a single patient episode, the renal registry will collect sequential quarterly data on patients and can track patients as they move between treatments and centres. Data are collected by software links to existing clinical computer systems in renal units. Most registries collect paper returns and transfer data to their computer systems. This slows retrieval and analysis - for example, the renal registries in the United States, Australia, and Italy are at least two years behind in analysing and reporting on the collected data. The UK Renal Registry has produced its first preliminary analysis of data this year, showing its ability to analyse and report on patient activity within six months. The registry aims to assist renal units with both comparative audit and audit against established British standards set jointly by the Royal College of Physicians and the Renal Association. It will help health care commissioners by providing agreed purchaser datasets. The data collected should prove an invaluable resource for planning, audit, and research in renal care. David Ansell Clinical coordinator Terry Feest Chairman UK Renal Registry, Southmead Hospital, Bristol BS10 5NB John Wallis, President Renal Association, Triangle House, London SW18 4HX Reference 1 Black N. Developing high quality clinical databases. BMJ 1997;315:381-2. (16 August.) Home | Current issue | Past issues | Classified ads | Career Focus | Feedback Collections | About this site | About the BMJ | BMA | Medline