title: Along the data-information continuum: pitfalls and opportunities.
abstract: Opportunities and problems in hospital information have been reviewed. At this juncture, it is clear that problems exist in much of the data that administrators and regulators accept as valid. This is due in part to the lack of attention to clinical information systems compared with financial and other management systems. At individual institutions, opportunities exist not only to upgrade the quality of data collected, but also to enhance the integration of these data to provide better clinical information. If this process can occur in an environment of cooperation between larger teaching institutions, larger clinically sophisticated databases can be constructed to better evaluate medical practice and clinical care.
authors.affiliation: Department of Quality Assurance, Yale-New Haven Hospital, New Haven, Connecticut 06504.
authors.forename: W B
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Crede
authors.forename: W J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Hierholzer
mesh_terms: D003133:Commission on Professional and Hospital Activities; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006751:Hospital Information Systems / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D006278:Medicare; D010361:Patients / Q000145:classification; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D014481:United States