Secondary use of electronic data, when paired with interventions to ensure correct interpretation and appropriate action, could play a useful role in improving metrics of care, according to a study published in the most recent Milbank Quarterly.
The case study used ethnographic methods to evaluate data use from electronic prescribing and decision support systems in improving patient safety and quality of care at a single English acute-care hospital, a technique the researchers called "technovigilance"
Researchers noted that at the study institution, secondary data was used to track performance of human and clinical method performance as a basis for improvement. Data tracking enabled the hospital to make measurable gains in medication administration and performance accountability.
Researchers also noted that such gains, without careful management, had the potential to turn into actions geared towards baseline compliance only. They recommended that hospitals attempting to use secondary electronic data to improve quality interventions keep this in mind when tracking performance.
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