In 1968, the Danish Civil Registration System was implemented. This system allows for a unique identification of every single citizen across several different Danish registers. Most of these registers are managed centrally by the national Danish Health Data Authority under the Ministry of Health.
The National Patient Register is the largest register of healthcare data and contains information about all examinations and treatments in Danish hospitals over the last 40 years. There are also registers of clinical laboratory information, pharmaceutical sales, medical implants, cause of death, and births just to mention a few.
Based on data in the national health registers, The Danish Health Data Authority regularly publishes analyses and reports on the population's health and the Danish healthcare system. Researchers can access the data in the registers through Research Services and a research platform called “Forskermaskinen” provided by The Danish Health Data Authority. It provides remote online access to data from the national health registers in a secure environment.