Information in medical decision making: how consistent is our management?
BACKGROUND
The use of outcomes data in clinical environments requires a correspondingly greater variety of information used in decision making, the measurement of quality, and clinical performance. As information becomes integral in the decision-making process, trustworthy decision support data are required.


METHODS
Using data from a national census of certified health information managers, variation in automated data quality management practices was examined.


RESULTS
Relatively low overall adoption of automated data management exists in health care organizations, with significant geographic and practice setting variation. Nonuniform regional adoption of computerized data management exists, despite national mandates that promote and in some cases require uniform adoption. Overall, a significant number of respondents (42.7%) indicated that they had not adopted policies and procedures to direct the timeliness of data capture, with 57.3% having adopted such practices.


CONCLUSIONS
The inconsistency of patient data policy suggests that provider organizations do not use uniform information management methods, despite growing federal mandates to do so.
Lorence
Daniel P
DP
Department of Health Policy and Administration, Pennsylvania State University, USA. dpl10@psu.edu
Spink
Amanda
A
Jameson
Robert
R
D000288:Administrative Personnel; D003625:Data Collection; D003628:Database Management Systems / Q000592:standards*; D003657:Decision Making; D020000:Decision Support Systems, Clinical / Q000592:standards; D004059:Diffusion of Innovation; D006801:Humans; D019451:Information Management / Q000592:standards*; D016134:Organizational Policy; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D014481:United States