The Swedish Elbow Arthroplasty Register and The Swedish Shoulder Arthroplasty Register: Two new Swedish arthroplasty registers

Two new national orthopedic quality registers were started in Sweden in 1999, the Swedish Shoulder Arthroplasty Register and the Swedish Elbow Arthroplasty Register. Both are owned by the Swedish Shoulder and Elbow Section of the Swedish Orthopedic Association. The purpose of the registers is to improve surgical techniques and selection of implants and identify individual risk factors. Two of the main problems in starting a new national quality register involve inducing all centers in the country to participate and deciding on the data to register.