[In-hospital injury reports and the injury evaluation work. Intentions and practice in somatic hospitals].

Doctors have no general obligation to report injuries to patients to the hospital administration, and hospitals have no obligation to establish committees to evaluate the cases reported. Most hospitals, however, have defined their own internal rules for reporting cases, and have established committees. The number of cases reported are few, but the reporting practice differs from hospital to hospital. Not all committees do evaluate the cases, and most patients do not receive the results of the evaluation. In order to realize important goals of health policy, such as better quality assurance and better information to patients, most hospitals have much left to do. One way to initiate a better practice may be to establish a uniform system throughout and a legal obligation to report and evaluate injuries.