We are an interdisciplinary research group applying new methods to study the health care services, mainly by use of registry data. Such observational data can be used to assess causes of effects, under certain conditions. In Norway we have access to an array of rich registries for both primary-, and specialist health care, but also for a wide range of other welfare schemes. It is also possible to link these registries with cohort studies such as The Trøndelag Health Study (The HUNT Study).

Randomized controlled trials are the primary method for answering questions about cause and effect, but decisions about the organization of the health care services are rarely based on such trials. There are both practical and ethical barriers to randomization of interventions at system level, and therefore, health care service research is largely based on registry data. Our novelty lies in mimicking randomized trials to analyze these observational data.

The aim of Regforsk, is to contribute to an improved understanding of the mechanisms driving structural, organizational, and financial conditions in the Norwegian health service, studying capacity, health care use, patient safety and clinical treatment effects, using routinely collected registry data.

Regforsk consists of experienced national and international researchers from varied scientific backgrounds (epidemiology, various clinical specialties in medicine, mathematics and statistics, social science, and economics). The environment originates from the Department of Public Health and Nursing (ISM) at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), and Center for Health Care Improvement at St. Olavs University Hospital.