Information in medical decision making: How consistent is our management?

Background. The use of outcomes data in clinical environments requires a correspondingly greater variety of information used in decision making, the measurement of quality, and clinical performance. As information becomes integral in the decision-making process, trustworthy decision support data are required. Methods. Using data from a national census of certified health information managers, variation in automated data quality management practices was examined. Results. Relatively low overall adoption of automated data management exists in health care organizations, with significant geographic and practice setting variation. Nonuniform regional adoption of computerized data management exists, despite national mandates that promote and in some cases require uniform adoption. Overall, a significant number of respondents (42.7%) indicated that they had not adopted policies and procedures to direct the timeliness of data capture, with 57.3% having adopted such practices. Conclusions. The inconsistency of patient data policy suggests that provider organizations do not use uniform information management methods, despite growing federal mandates to do so.