Summary
Objective:
OpenSDE is an application that supports structured recording of narrative patient
data to enable use of the data in both clinical practice and clinical research. Reliability
and accuracy of collected data are essential for subsequent data use. In this study
we analyze the uniformity of data entered with OpenSDE. Our objective is to obtain
insight into the consensus and differences of recorded data.
Methods:
Three pediatricians transcribed 20 paper patient records using OpenSDE. The transcribed
records were compared and all recorded findings were classified into one of six categories
of difference.
Results:
Of all findings 22% were recorded identically; 17% of the findings were recorded
differently (predominantly as free text); 61% was omitted, inferred, or in conflict
with the paper record.
Conclusion:
The results of this study show that recording patient data using structured data
entry does not necessarily lead to uniformly structured data.
Keywords
Structured data entry - information storage and retrieval - medical records