title: Issues in designing an automated record system for clinical care and research.
abstract: Automated clinical record systems have the potential for amassing a rich database for clinically focused research. Several requirements must be met for this to occur, however. The data must be valid and reliable, and they must be structured in such a way that they can be analyzed. In addition, the data must be housed in a software environment that permits easy retrieval and manipulation. Clinicians have their own requirements for clinical record systems, which may conflict with the objective of achieving a database useful for research. This article reports the experience of one group in designing a system that serves as both a clinical record system and a database that can directly assess the impact of a coordinated care program for postacute care of the elderly.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Computer Science, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston.
authors.forename: R D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Zielstorff
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Jette
authors.forename: G O
authors.initials: GO
authors.lastname: Barnett
mesh_terms: D000359:Aftercare; D000368:Aged; D016208:Databases, Factual / Q000592:standards*; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D008499:Medical Records; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D010348:Patient Care Team; D012106:Research