The Quality Disconnect. (cover story)

HEALTH facility administration; INFORMATION storage & retrieval systems; MEDICAL databases; INFORMATION technology; MEDICAL quality control; EVALUATION of organizational effectiveness; QUALITY assurance; HUMAN services programs; ELECTRONIC health records

The article explores the assessment quality metrics of health care performance from analysis of electronic medical records, noting that performance measures were created before the use of electronic records. The need for intelligent computer systems to evaluate data in line with the standards is discussed. Other topics include the development of data specifications by the U.S. National Quality Forum (NQF), improvement of hospital information systems, and the goal of real-time reporting. INSET: EXECUTIVE CORNER.