Open AccessElectronic medical records may be inadequate for improving population health status through general practice: cervical smears as a case study
Author(s) -
Laurence Caroline O.M.,
Burgess Teresa,
Beilby Justin,
Symon Brian,
Wilkinson David
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of public health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.946
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1753-6405
pISSN - 1326-0200
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-842x.2004.tb00436.x
Subject(s) - medical record , medicine , population , health records , family medicine , environmental health , health care , economics , economic growth
Objective: To determine whether routine electronic records are an accurate source of population health data in general practice through reviewing cervical smears rates in four South Australian practices. Methods: The cervical screening rate in a purposive sample of four general practices (three rural and one urban) was obtained using an audit of medical records and a telephone follow‐up. Results: The cervical screening rate using only immediately available electronic medical records indicated an overall low rate for the participating practices (44.9%). However, telephone follow‐up and adjustments to the denominator indicated the real rate to be 85.7%. The offer of appointments during the telephone follow‐up further improved this rate for eligible women (93.8%). Conclusions and implications: Electronic medical records may be inadequate in preventive screening in general practice, without ensuring their accuracy. Updating records by telephone or personal follow‐up produces a much more accurate denominator.