A multiple-hospital anaesthetic problem register: establishment of a regionally organized system for facilitated reporting of potentially recurring anaesthetic-related problems.

A regionally organized system aiming to facilitate reporting and retrieval of information about potentially recurring anaesthetic-related problems has been established, covering 20 separate hospitals. Components of the system include a reporting package to facilitate use by anaesthetists in busy clinical practice; centralized clerical support; supervision by anaesthetists; reports and laminated cards supplied to the patient; and a permanently accessible database. A new classification system for difficulties in airway management has been developed as part of the system. After initial establishment, the system has been utilized by a broad cross-section of anaesthetists in the region. The first 350 reports are described. The reporting rate is approximately 0.3% of all anaesthetics given in the region. We believe the success of this system has been primarily due to features aiming to facilitate reporting, "local" ownership and supervision by clinical anaesthetists.