23 Apr When searching for data to provide information, it is important the data be uniform and of high quality.
When searching for data to provide information, it is important the data be uniform and of high quality. For example, if you wanted to know how many people in the state of New York have diabetes, your information would not be complete unless this information was entered in a consistent format; New York might be entered as NY, N.Y., or New York, and diabetes might be entered as Diabetes, diabetes, or DM (diabetes mellitus). If you searched for Diabetes cases in N.Y., your results would be incomplete.
There are ways to ensure data are consistent and searchable. For example, a drop-down list limits your options and a field mask ensures consistency. An example of a field mask would be a field that requires you enter a Social Security number in the following format: xxx-xx-xxxx.
List six sources of healthcare data. For each data source, answer the following questions:
Is the data structured or unstructured?
Is this a source of high quality data?
What can you do to improve the quality of this data?
Use at least two peer-reviewed or scholarly sources in addition to those in the course to support your assertions.
Course Outcomes:
1. Communicate the importance of information systems and technology in modern and future healthcare delivery.
2. Propose health information technology solutions to a healthcare organization.
Learning Objective:
1. Describe sources of healthcare data.
