title: Exploring three approaches for handling incomplete patient histories in a computer-based guideline for childhood immunization.
abstract: A significant problem faced by immunization registries is that the dates of a patient's previous vaccinations may not be known. These incomplete histories can pose a problem when attempting to use a computer-based guideline to produce patient-specific immunization recommendations automatically. This paper describes an overall approach, together with 3 specific strategies, developed to help deal with this problem. The paper then describes our experience applying the approach to a database containing over 400,000 immunization histories. The paper also discusses a number of the issues raised in adapting a computer-based guideline to accommodate incomplete patient data of this sort.
authors.affiliation: Center for Medical Informatics, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: P L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Frawley
authors.forename: F G
authors.initials: FG
authors.lastname: Sayward
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D003628:Database Management Systems; D019992:Databases as Topic / Q000458:organization & administration; D003658:Decision Making, Computer-Assisted; D006801:Humans; D007114:Immunization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D007115:Immunization Schedule; D016347:Medical Records Systems, Computerized; D010865:Pilot Projects; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D012042:Registries