Content of the registry
The registry collects information on all patients receiving ECT treatment. The data collected include diagnoses, indications, depression scores, complications/adverse effects, and treatment parameters (dose, pulse width, number of sessions). All patients over the age of 16 are registered using dedicated forms for treatment series, a 6-month follow-up form, and a patient questionnaire about their experience of treatment, improvement, and any side effects.
The registry also gathers data through an annual survey (National mapping of ECT services and organization) sent to all those responsible for the operation and maintenance of an active ECT device. This survey includes questions about patient population, compliance with guidelines, and the organization of the service.
Population and geography
The registry is intended to include information on all patients treated in Norway. In 2025, there are 29 ECT devices in use in Norway. All ECT treatments are provided within the specialist health care service.
Inclusion or exclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria: All patients in Norway receiving ECT.
Exclusion criteria: Individuals under 16 years of age.
If ECT is administered to individuals under 16, these treatments will not be recorded at the individual level. However, an annual survey will inquire whether such cases have occurred.
Data collection period
Patient data registered in the registry’s technical platform (MRS5): September 1, 2023 – present.
Annual distribution of the National Survey on ECT Services and Organization: 2023 – present.
The ECT registry includes an opt-out option, allowing patients to choose not to be registered. The registry is still being rolled out and may therefore lack information on some patients, even at units that have started registration. As of today, the registry has not yet completed its first coverage analysis.
Variables
National Survey on ECT Services and Organization: These variables are published with results in the registry’s annual report. Please contact the registry for any questions regarding these variables.
Data quality
“Due to the short period of data collection, the registry has not yet carried out data quality projects or analyses. Work on the registry’s first coverage analysis is currently underway (autumn 2025).”
Open data
National Quality Registries have a shared service for displaying quality indicators (Behandlingskvalitet). The ECT Registry submitted data to this solution for the first time in 2025, using data from 2024.
The registry has published results in its annual report since 2023: Nasjonalt kvalitetsregister for elektrokonvulsiv terapi - Nasjonalt Servicemiljø for Medisinske kvalitetsregistre
Purpose
- To provide an overview of ECT treatments in Norway
- To support compliance with the National Guidelines from 2017, particularly regarding:
- Information and legal basis
- Indications for treatment
- Standards for treatment procedures
- To contribute to knowledge about patients’ experiences of treatment.
- To serve as a foundation for research and enable linkage of data with other national registries, as well as comparison of data and outcomes nationally and internationally.
Specific requirements
Data from the registry may only be released for projects or work aligned with the registry’s purpose.
Applications for the release and use of data from multiple hospitals must be submitted to the registry administration. The information will be provided in a manner that ensures privacy and meets information security requirements. Personal data for research purposes will normally be de-identified or anonymized.
Apply for access to data
Contact the registry administration for more information on how to gain access to data from the register. Applications are processed on an ongoing basis. All applications are reviewed by the advisory board.
Data controller and data processor
Data Processor: Norsk Helsenett
Data Controller: Helse Bergen HF
Legal authority
The legal basis for the data processing is Article 6(1)(e) of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The processing basis follows from the Regulation on Medical Quality Registers, Section 1–4. The Regulation provides the necessary supplementary legal basis in accordance with Article 6(1)(e), cf. Article 6(3), as well as an exemption from the prohibition on processing health data in accordance with Article 9(2)(j). (The Health Register Act and the Regulation on Medical Quality Registers constitute the required supplementary national legal basis pursuant to Article 6(3).) The register is based on an opt-out model.