[Quality of data transfer in perinatal data -- experience of a centre].
BACKGROUND
A sufficient quality of data transfer from written patient records to electronic data processing is a precondition for a reasonable usage of perinatal data. However the quality of data transfer of the almost 200 characteristics routinely recorded at each delivery is largely unknown.


METHODS
The quality of data transfer of 33 characteristics in 350 randomly selected singleton deliveries of the women's clinic of the University of Marburg from 2002 and 2003 has been checked by comparing electronically recorded data with the original written documents.


RESULTS
The quality of data transfer of the tested characteristics turned out to be heterogeneous. Characteristics necessary to calculate quality indicators show a very high data quality when excluding the characteristic attendance of a paediatrician. The quality of data transfer of characteristics denoting time as well as blood gas analysis are heterogeneous. Characteristics with a low quality of data transfer are associated with ambiguous instructions, the fact that the coding obstetrician is not dealing in the first instance with the item being encoded and the characteristics are of no immediate relevance for delivery, as well as difficult application of the software.


CONCLUSIONS
The quality of data transfer of the characteristics collected in perinatal surveys needs to be validated. The type and amount of data being collected should be reassessed considering improvements of data quality.
Stein
W
W
Universitäts-Frauenklinik Marburg. steinw@med.uni-marburg.de
Kaplan
L
L
Woernle
F
F
Kühnert
M
M
Schmidt
S
S
D004282:Documentation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006751:Hospital Information Systems / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006771:Hospitals, Maternity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008499:Medical Records / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016347:Medical Records Systems, Computerized / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015203:Reproducibility of Results