چکیده (انگلیسی):

Background:Technological advances in clinical data capturing and storage systems have led to recent attempts at
disease surveillance and region specific population health planning through regularly collected primary care
administrative clinical data. However the accuracy and comprehensiveness of primary care health records remain
questionable.
Methods:We aimed to explore the perceptions and experiences of general practice staff in maintaining accurate
patient health data within clinical software used in primary care settings of regional NSW. Focus groups were
conducted with general practitioners, practice nurses and practice administrative staff from 17 practices in the
Illawarra-Shoalhaven region of the state of New South Wales (NSW) in Australia that had participated in the Sentinel
Practices Data Sourcing (SPDS) project - a general practice based chronic disease surveillance and data quality
improvement study. A total of 25 respondents that included 12 general practitioners (GPs) and 13 practice staff
participated in the 6 focus groups. Focus groups were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thematic
analysis of the data was undertaken.
Results:Five key themes emerged from the data. Firstly, the theme ofresourcing data management raised issues of
time constraints, the lack of a dedicated data management role and the importance of multidisciplinary
involvement, including a data champion. The need for incentiveswas identified as being important to motivate
ongoing commitment to maintaining data quality. However,quality of software packages,including coding issues
and software limitations andinformation technology skills were seen as key barriers. The final theme provided
insight into the lessons learnt from the project and the increased awareness of the importance of data
quality amongst practice staff.
Conclusion:The move towards electronic methods of maintaining general practice patient records offers
significant potential benefits in terms of both patient care and monitoring of health status and health needs within
the community. However, this study has reinforced the importance of human factors in the maintenance of such
datasets. To achieve optimal benefits of electronic health and medical records for patient care and for population
health planning purposes, it is extremely essential to address the barriers that clinicians and other staff face in
maintaining complete and correct primary care patient electronic health and medical information.