Is the data quality of current theatre information systems satisfactory to monitor individual surgeons' activity?

Objective. To compare data collection in two theatre log systems to assess usefulness for monitoring an individual surgeon's activity. Design. A retrospective study of a handwritten theatre logbook and a computerised data collection system (Galaxy). Setting. Gynaecology theatres in a district general hospital in the UK. Sample. All abdominal hysterectomies over a consecutive 12-month period. Results. 299 abdominal hysterectomies were recorded in the handwritten log and 298 were recorded on the Galaxy system. Four cases were identified in the handwritten log that did not appear in the Galaxy system, and 3 cases appeared in the Galaxy system that did not appear in the handwritten log. In 2 cases there was a major discrepancy between recordings of the operation undertaken. In 47 cases (16%) a different primary surgeon was recorded. Conclusion. Retrospective collection of cases from both the computerised theatre log and the handwritten log have multiple inaccuracies limiting their usefulness to monitor an individual surgeon's activity as an individual logbook.