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. 2021 Apr;65(1):94-104.

Assessing the feasibility of using an electronic records database system in use in a group of private chiropractic clinics for practice-based research

Edward F Owens Jr  1 , Joseph Esposito  2 , Ronald S Hosek  1 , Stephanie G B Sullivan  1
Affiliations

Assessing the feasibility of using an electronic records database system in use in a group of private chiropractic clinics for practice-based research

Edward F Owens Jr et al. J Can Chiropr Assoc. 2021 Apr.

Abstract
in English, French

Objective: To explore the feasibility of collecting aggregated patient data from the electronic records of a group of private practices and to determine the suitability of the data for comparative effectiveness or other practice-based research (PBR).

Methods: Assess the type and quality of healthrelated variables contained in a commercially available electronic records system (Vitalogics) in use in consenting chiropractor's offices. Descriptively analyze baseline patient records to identify demographic variables, vital signs, case types and diagnoses.

Results: Of the 46,000 individual patient records that were analyzed, only a fraction had usable demographic data while more than half contained ICD-9 codes, including records for non-insurance case-types. None contained outcome variables.

Conclusion: We did not find that the electronic record system we examined had the types of demographic and outcomes variables that would be useful for comparative effectiveness research. The addition of special fields to code chief complaint and health status indicators not typically included in an electronic records system would be most useful.

Objectif: Examiner la possibilité de recueillir des macrodonnées de patients dans les dossiers électroniques d’un groupe de cliniques privées et déterminer leur utilité pour mener une recherche comparative d’efficacité ou mener d’autres recherches fondées sur la pratique.

Méthodologie: Évaluer le type et la qualité des variables de santé contenus dans le logiciel de gestion de dossiers médicaux informatisés de Vitalogics en usage dans les cabinets des chiropraticiens consentants. Effectuer une analyse descriptive de dossiers de patients de référence pour trouver des variables démographiques, des signes vitaux, des cas types et des diagnostics.

Résultats: Des 46 000 dossiers de patients examinés, seule une partie contenaient des données démographiques utiles alors que moins de la moitié contenaient les codes de la classification ICD-9, et des données sur des cas types non assurés. Aucun ne contenait de variables de résultats.

Conclusion: À notre avis, le système de gestion de dossiers électroniques examinés ne fournit pas des types de variables démographiques et de variables de résultats qui seraient utiles pour mener une recherche comparative d’efficacité. L’ajout de champs spéciaux permettant de saisir le code du symptôme principal et des indicateurs de l’état de santé, ce qui d’habitude ne se trouve pas dans un logiciel de gestion de dossiers électroniques, s’avérerait très utile.

Keywords: chiropractic; database; effectiveness; health record; practice-based research.

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Conflict of interest statement

The study was supported in part with funds from the Health Missions foundation and approved by the Institutional Review Board of Life University in Marietta, GA, USA. The authors have no other disclaimers, competing interests, or sources of support or funding to report in the preparation of this manuscript.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Geographic distribution of patients in EMR sample.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Frequency distribution of ages, broken out by gender, when both variables were present for the same patient. Vertical axis is number of patients, horizontal axis is age in decades at the time of 1st visit.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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