Gastronet

Gastronet is a network for quality improvement in gasteroenterology. It is one of the official national quality assurance programmes in Norway. It has been translated for use in other countries. The main focus is on quality improvement of gastrointestinal endoscopy services.

The Gastronet secretariat receives paper-based reports on gastrointestinal endoscopic examinations from approximately 30 hospitals in Norway. Matching reports from each examination are received from the patients. These reports include scores on service, discomfort and pain. This concept has developed from the quality assurance programme in the Norwegian Colorectal Cancer Prevention (NORCCAP) study. The endoscopy and patients’ reports are scanned and data stored in the Gastronet database. The Gastronet concept (in particular patient’s reports) have been used in several research projects.