A Danish national database has been designed to monitor the quality of cholecystectomies. Data on each operation, surgeon, patient, length of hospital stay and complications are registered prospectively. Hospital departments will periodically be informed of their own and national results and will have continuous access to their own data for further analyses. A report on the nationwide data will be published and debated once a year after a thorough expert evaluation of the results in relation to defined risk factors. The database can be the basis for future clinical development and scientific investigations.