Information about each X-ray examination, in a modern digitized X-ray department is generated and stored in a PACS. Appropriate conversion factors, e.g. E/DAP, can be applied to separate projections and summed to the total effective dose for each examination. The objectives of the work were (i) to investigate the accuracy and precision in the calculated effective dose (ii) to identify data for registration of (1) patient dose, (2) exposure data, and (3) patient information (iii) to make it possible to derive dose statistics on patient level for documentation of diagnostic standard doses, optimizations, constancy checks, and future epidemiological studies. The effective doses were calculated using Monte Carlo based computer programs or by using tabulations. Conversion factors were calculated for different levels of information and the individual effective dose was compared to the most precise estimation. The results suggest that the accuracy in the estimations of effective dose increases by added information about the patient (gender, size) and how the examination was performed.