title: Public health issues in the development of centralized health care databases.
abstract: The establishment of centralized databases, in conjunction with health care reform, offers us an opportunity to enhance the collection of data supportive of public health functions. However, this opportunity may be lost without the informed, persuasive, and persistent participation of the public health community in the database development process. Maryland's effort to construct a statewide database illustrates the political forces and technical complexity involved in the task. It also demonstrates how public health officials, by making their views known, can influence database design and health care reform.
authors: Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, USA.
authors: M E
authors: ME
authors: Stuart
mesh_terms: D003363:Cost Control / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D016208:Databases, Factual / Q000592:standards; D018166:Health Care Reform / Q000191:economics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006291:Health Policy / Q000191:economics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D006801:Humans; D008396:Maryland; D011635:Public Health Administration; D014481:United States