Abstract

Despite the premise of better data, Electronic Health Record (EHR) data quality remains problematic. Traditional approaches for improving data quality through semantic and syntactic controls have not resolved the problems. To use the medical vernacular – “we have addressed the symptoms but not the cause.” This paper reports on an exploratory study undertaken in a large maternity hospital with an aim to expose detractors from high-quality data in EHRs. The study involved a perceptions survey that was completed by Nursing and Midwifery staff; chosen because of known data quality challenges in their area of practice. The study results indicate social, cultural and environmental aspects of information systems (IS) use are equally as problematic as the IS itself. A lack of agreement amongst healthcare practitioners surrounding what data quality means is also evident, with time, culture and lacking formal education on data quality being contributors to lower data quality outcomes

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