title: Problems of case finding and data collection in ambulatory care settings.
abstract: The experience gained in a four-year ambulatory care study suggests that major problems of patient care data collection include: 1) Difficulties in obtaining listings of patients by diagnosis/condition that accurately reflect the actual practice experience; 2) Inaccurate coding or identification of the reason for patient visits; and 3) Inability to find the medical record within the system. Data presented here suggest there are certain regularities in completion rates characteristic of research sites and of diagnostic categories.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000592:standards*; D002648:Child; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008499:Medical Records / Q000592:standards; D008824:Michigan; D011787:Quality of Health Care