title: Collection of pregnancy outcome records following infertility-challenges and possible solutions.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study is to report challenges encountered when conducting inter-institutional data collection of obstetric (prenatal and postpartum) and delivery outcomes for research purposes and to propose solutions for enhanced efficiency.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were collected from women who consented to collection of obstetric and delivery records for an observational study of pregnancy and delivery outcomes following infertility treatment. We analyzed key issues relevant to improving efficiency of obstetric and delivery data collection via quantification of effort (such as number of calls and faxes) required to obtain records from different types of obstetric clinics and hospitals before and after utilization of a revised authorization.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At time of analysis, records were successfully collected from 320 of the 451 participants who had delivered. The 320 participants received obstetric care at 63 institutions and delivered at 27 hospitals, with 168 (52.5 %) delivering at institutions other than home facility. At time of consent (8 weeks gestation), 155 of 320 (48.5 %) correctly predicted where they would receive obstetric care and 176 (55 %) where they would delivery. Most facilities (nearly 90 %) rejected our original authorization, but most (90 %) accepted the revised authorization described in this manuscript.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Collecting records is time-consuming but important as over 50 % of our participants received care outside of the home facility. To efficiently collect outside records, we recommend that researchers interested in maternal and neonatal outcomes consider the guidelines outlined in this manuscript. This report also provides strong evidence of the need to develop data sharing through electronic health records for research purposes.
authors.affiliation: Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College, Hinman 335, 45 Kellogg Bldg, Hanover, NH, 03755, USA.
authors.forename: Erin G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Floyd
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, Stanford University Medical Center, 1195 W Fremont Ave., Sunnyvale, CA, 94087, USA.|Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Strasse 1, Hannover, 30625, Lower Saxony, Germany.
authors.forename: Frauke
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: von Versen-Höynck
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, University of Florida, 2004 Mowry Road, P.O. Box 117450, Gainesville, FL, 32610, USA.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, University of Florida, 2004 Mowry Road, P.O. Box 117450, Gainesville, FL, 32610, USA.
authors.forename: Yueh-Yun
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Chi
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, Stanford University Medical Center, 1195 W Fremont Ave., Sunnyvale, CA, 94087, USA.
authors.forename: Raquel R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Fleischmann
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, Stanford University Medical Center, 1195 W Fremont Ave., Sunnyvale, CA, 94087, USA. vlbaker@stanford.edu.
authors.forename: Valerie L
authors.initials: VL
authors.lastname: Baker
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003625:Data Collection / Q000379:methods*; D036861:Delivery, Obstetric / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D066275:Health Information Exchange; D020408:Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act; D006801:Humans; D007246:Infertility; D033181:Information Dissemination / Q000379:methods*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D011295:Prenatal Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States
keywords: Data sharing; Health information exchange; Infertility; Pregnancy outcome