{"title":"Data quality in healthcare: A report of practical experience with the Canadian Primary Care Sentinel Surveillance Network data","authors":"B. Ehsani-Moghaddam, Ken Martin, J. Queenan","doi":"10.1177/1833358319887743","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1833358319887743","url":null,"abstract":"Data quality (DQ) is the degree to which a given dataset meets a user’s requirements. In the primary healthcare setting, poor quality data can lead to poor patient care, negatively affect the validity and reproducibility of research results and limit the value that such data may have for public health surveillance. To extract reliable and useful information from a large quantity of data and to make more effective and informed decisions, data should be as clean and free of errors as possible. Moreover, because DQ is defined within the context of different user requirements that often change, DQ should be considered to be an emergent construct. As such, we cannot expect that a sufficient level of DQ will last forever. Therefore, the quality of clinical data should be constantly assessed and reassessed in an iterative fashion to ensure that appropriate levels of quality are sustained in an acceptable and transparent manner. This document is based on our hands-on experiences dealing with DQ improvement for the Canadian Primary Care Sentinel Surveillance Network database. The DQ dimensions that are discussed here are accuracy and precision, completeness and comprehensiveness, consistency, timeliness, uniqueness, data cleaning and coherence.","PeriodicalId":55068,"journal":{"name":"Health Information Management Journal","volume":"50 1","pages":"88 - 92"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2019-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/1833358319887743","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47859011","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Thomas Cloney, Jessele Vinluan, Andrew Chen, C. Retegan, P. McCahy
{"title":"Stakeholder’s perceived value of surgical audit data provided by the Victorian Audit of Surgical Mortality","authors":"Thomas Cloney, Jessele Vinluan, Andrew Chen, C. Retegan, P. McCahy","doi":"10.1177/1833358319885223","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1833358319885223","url":null,"abstract":"Background: Clinical audits can vary in their effectiveness depending on how the information is provided and the relationship between those giving and receiving feedback. In the Australian state of Victoria, the Victorian Audit of Surgical Mortality (VASM) is a state-wide mortality audit that, prior to this study, did not have a bidirectional feedback mechanism in place to gauge perception of the audit held by its stakeholders. Objective: We aimed to investigate the perceived quality of the audit’s information and the effectiveness of the audit’s communication strategies from the stakeholder population. Methods: We used a mixed methods approach to provide open-ended explorations into stakeholders’ views while also providing structured tools for conducting annual reviews. The qualitative data were analysed using an inductive content analysis. Results: Between 2015 and 2017, 240 VASM stakeholders were contacted, of whom 82 (34.2%) agreed to be interviewed. The VASM’s data were perceived to be of high quality and used in a variety of ways. The audit’s communication strategies were seen to be adequate but could be more targeted to the stakeholder. There is a perception that the audit might not be relevant to hospital stakeholders that are not themselves clinicians, despite direct involvement with the audit. Conclusion: This study helps to explain the role the audit plays among its stakeholders and offers three overarching recommendations for improvement strategies: produce data sharing strategies that are relevant to rural or highly specialised surgical centres, improve communication to be targeted at stakeholders and explore methods to provide feedback to hospital management with more individualised feedback.","PeriodicalId":55068,"journal":{"name":"Health Information Management Journal","volume":"50 1","pages":"55 - 63"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2019-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/1833358319885223","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42477146","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
R. Safdari, H. Rezaeizadeh, G. Arji, A. Abbassian, Mehrshad Mokhtaran, R. Dehghan, Sara Shekalyou
{"title":"The necessity to develop a national classification system for Iranian traditional medicine","authors":"R. Safdari, H. Rezaeizadeh, G. Arji, A. Abbassian, Mehrshad Mokhtaran, R. Dehghan, Sara Shekalyou","doi":"10.1177/1833358319872820","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1833358319872820","url":null,"abstract":"Background: Classification of disease and interventions in traditional medicine (TM) is necessary for standardised coding of information. Currently, in Iran, there is no standard electronic classification system for disease and interventions in TM. Objective: The current study aimed to develop a national framework for the classification of disease and intervention in Persian medicine based on expert opinion. Method: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in 2018. The existing systems for the classification of disease and interventions in TM were reviewed in detail, and some of the structural and content characteristics were extracted for the development of the classification of Iranian traditional medicine. Based on these features, a self-administered questionnaire was developed. Study participants (25) were experts in the field of Persian medicine and health information management in Tehran medical universities. Results: Main axes for the classification of disease and interventions were determined. The most important applications of the classification system were related to clinical coding, policymaking, reporting of mortality and morbidity data, cost analysis and determining the quality indicators. Half of the participants (50%) stated that the classification system should be designed by maintaining the main axis of the World Health Organization classification system and changing the subgroups if necessary. A computer-assisted coding system for TM was proposed for the current study. Conclusion: Development of this classification system will provide nationally comparable data that can be widely used by governments, national organisations and academic researchers.","PeriodicalId":55068,"journal":{"name":"Health Information Management Journal","volume":"50 1","pages":"128 - 139"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2019-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/1833358319872820","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49427577","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"My Health Record: Connecting Australians with their own health information","authors":"Meredith Makeham","doi":"10.1177/1833358319841511","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1833358319841511","url":null,"abstract":"The expansion of My Health Record marks an important change in Australia’s healthcare system. In February 2019, a My Health Record was created for people, unless they chose not to have one. This opt-out participation model resulted in a large number of Australians now having access to My Health Record, with approximately 90.1% of those eligible for Medicare participating in the system at the time of record creation. While a national electronic summary record has been available since July 2012, the move to an opt-out system with the ongoing option to permanently delete their record at any time offers Australians an important choice about how they wish to interact with their personal health information. There has been a global move to digitise health systems and data over recent years to improve the way clinicians access accurate health information at the point of care. This is hardly surprising given the critical importance of access to high-quality data in delivering safer care and better health outcomes for our patients. Some countries around the world are now developing digital services that allow people to access their own health information. The growth of these “personal health record” systems (Tang et al., 2006) – like Australia’s My Health Record – represent an important change for people, empowering them to play a more active and informed role in managing their health in partnership with their healthcare providers. The My Health Record system is a secure online record, accessible to and controlled by the healthcare consumer, containing summary information from their registered and connected healthcare providers. The information includes shared health summaries from general practice containing medicines, allergies and diagnoses; hospital discharge summaries; pharmacy dispense records; event summaries and documents from specialists and allied healthcare providers; and pathology and diagnostic imaging reports. In addition, people can view their records within the Australian Immunisation Register and Australian Organ Donor registry, access Medicare and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme billing information and upload their own Advance Care Plans. Healthcare providers who are securely connected to the system and directly providing care to the My Health Record recipient are allowed to view and upload information to the record for their patients. This is a model that overcomes some of the traditional communication barriers that prevent a healthcare provider – and individuals – from accessing information contained within health system siloes. This could also be life-saving in an emergency situation where information about key diagnoses, medicines and allergies may be critical. Empowering people with access to their own health information and reducing risk in an emergency through My Health Record are important benefits to acknowledge. However, there are many other benefits associated with personal health records that have been demonstrated in a variety","PeriodicalId":55068,"journal":{"name":"Health Information Management Journal","volume":"48 1","pages":"113 - 115"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2019-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/1833358319841511","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42297237","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Morteza Hemmat, H. Ayatollahi, M. Maleki, F. Saghafi
{"title":"Health information technology foresight for Iran: A Delphi study of experts’ views to inform future policymaking","authors":"Morteza Hemmat, H. Ayatollahi, M. Maleki, F. Saghafi","doi":"10.1177/1833358319868445","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1833358319868445","url":null,"abstract":"Background: Policymakers require a systematic approach when planning for information technology needs in healthcare. Objective: The aim of this study was to obtain experts’ predictions of future health information technology (HIT) needs until 2025 for Iran in relation to the relative importance of key technologies, expected timeframe of realisation, areas that may be impacted upon and obstacles to achieving these goals. Method: This article presents results from the third phase (a Delphi study) of a larger mixed-method study. Policymakers from the Iranian Ministry of Health and faculty members from different medical universities across the country who were expert in the field of HIT were invited to participate (n = 61). Results: Participants (39) completed the first-round questionnaire and 24 completed the second. The development of personal health records (n = 32, 82.0%), the development of clinical decision-making systems (n = 30, 76.9%) and the use of business intelligence for collecting and analysing clinical and financial data (n = 32, 82.0%) were predicted to occur after 2025. The healthcare areas predicted to experience the greatest impact from most HITs were facilitating patient–provider communication and improving healthcare quality. Key barriers to achieving HITs were related to weaknesses in planning and limited financial resources for most technologies. Conclusion: By identifying the areas of impact and the barriers to achieving the HIT goals, more accurate planning is possible and resources can be allocated according to priorities.","PeriodicalId":55068,"journal":{"name":"Health Information Management Journal","volume":"50 1","pages":"76 - 87"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2019-08-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/1833358319868445","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43270355","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"How can hospitals better protect the privacy of electronic medical records? Perspectives from staff members of health information management departments","authors":"M. Sher, Paul C. Talley, T. Cheng, Kuang-Ming Kuo","doi":"10.1177/1833358316671264","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1833358316671264","url":null,"abstract":"Purpose: The adoption of electronic medical records (EMR) is expected to better improve overall healthcare quality and to offset the financial pressure of excessive administrative burden. However, safeguarding EMR against potentially hostile security breaches from both inside and outside healthcare facilities has created increased patients’ privacy concerns from all sides. The aim of our study was to examine the influencing factors of privacy protection for EMR by healthcare professionals. Method: We used survey methodology to collect questionnaire responses from staff members in health information management departments among nine Taiwanese hospitals active in EMR utilisation. A total of 209 valid responses were collected in 2014. We used partial least squares for analysing the collected data. Results: Perceived benefits, perceived barriers, self-efficacy and cues to action were found to have a significant association with intention to protect EMR privacy, while perceived susceptibility and perceived severity were not. Conclusion: Based on the findings obtained, we suggest that hospitals should provide continuous ethics awareness training to relevant staff and design more effective strategies for improving the protection of EMR privacy in their charge. Further practical and research implications are also discussed.","PeriodicalId":55068,"journal":{"name":"Health Information Management Journal","volume":"46 1","pages":"87 - 95"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2017-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/1833358316671264","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48931173","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
S. Barnett, Joan Henderson, A. Hodgkins, C. Harrison, Abhijeet Ghosh, Bridget R Dijkmans-Hadley, H. Britt, Andrew D Bonney
{"title":"A valuable approach to the use of electronic medical data in primary care research: Panning for gold","authors":"S. Barnett, Joan Henderson, A. Hodgkins, C. Harrison, Abhijeet Ghosh, Bridget R Dijkmans-Hadley, H. Britt, Andrew D Bonney","doi":"10.1177/1833358316669888","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1833358316669888","url":null,"abstract":"Background: Electronic medical data (EMD) from electronic health records of general practice computer systems have enormous research potential, yet many variables are unreliable. Objective: The aim of this study was to compare selected data variables from general practice EMD with a reliable, representative national dataset (Bettering the Evaluation and Care of Health (BEACH)) in order to validate their use for primary care research. Method: EMD variables were compared with encounter data from the nationally representative BEACH program using χ2 tests and robust 95% confidence intervals to test their validity (measure what they reportedly measure). The variables focused on for this study were patient age, sex, smoking status and medications prescribed at the visit. Results: The EMD sample from six general practices in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia, yielded data on 196,515 patient encounters. Details of 90,553 encounters were recorded in the 2013 BEACH dataset from 924 general practitioners. No significant differences in patient age (p = 0.36) or sex (p = 0.39) were found. EMD had a lower rate of current smokers and higher average scripts per visit, but similar prescribing distribution patterns. Conclusion: Validating EMD variables offers avenues for improving primary care delivery and measuring outcomes of care to inform clinical practice and health policy.","PeriodicalId":55068,"journal":{"name":"Health Information Management Journal","volume":"46 1","pages":"51 - 57"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2017-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/1833358316669888","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44174946","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Accuracy of outpatient service data for activity-based funding in New South Wales, Australia","authors":"E. Munyisia, D. Reid, Robert Yu","doi":"10.1177/1833358316678957","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1833358316678957","url":null,"abstract":"Background: Despite increasing research on activity-based funding (ABF), there is no empirical evidence on the accuracy of outpatient service data for payment. Objective: This study aimed to identify data entry errors affecting ABF in two drug and alcohol outpatient clinic services in Australia. Methods: An audit was carried out on healthcare workers’ (doctors, nurses, psychologists, social workers, counsellors, and aboriginal health education officers) data entry errors in an outpatient electronic documentation system. Results: Of the 6919 data entries in the electronic documentation system, 7.5% (518) had errors, 68.7% of the errors were related to a wrong primary activity, 14.5% were due to a wrong activity category, 14.5% were as a result of a wrong combination of primary activity and modality of care, 1.9% were due to inaccurate information on a client’s presence during service delivery and 0.4% were related to a wrong modality of care. Conclusion: Data entry errors may affect the amount of funding received by a healthcare organisation, which in turn may affect the quality of treatment provided to clients due to the possibility of underfunding the organisation. To reduce errors or achieve an error-free environment, there is a need to improve the naming convention of data elements, their descriptions and alignment with the national standard classification of outpatient services. It is also important to support healthcare workers in their data entry by embedding safeguards in the electronic documentation system such as flags for inaccurate data elements.","PeriodicalId":55068,"journal":{"name":"Health Information Management Journal","volume":"46 1","pages":"78 - 86"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2017-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/1833358316678957","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46258774","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}