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Collecting Patient Race/Ethnicity and Primary Language Data in Ambulatory Care Settings: A Case Study in Methodology
Author(s) -
Palaniappan Latha P.,
Wong Eric C.,
Shin Jessica J.,
Moreno Maria R.,
OteroSabogal Regina
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
health services research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.706
H-Index - 121
eISSN - 1475-6773
pISSN - 0017-9124
DOI - 10.1111/j.1475-6773.2009.00992.x
Subject(s) - medicine , ethnic group , ambulatory , desk , data collection , ambulatory care , family medicine , primary care , health care , medical emergency , computer science , statistics , surgery , mathematics , sociology , anthropology , economics , economic growth , operating system
Objective. To collect patient race/ethnicity and language (r/e/l) in an ambulatory care setting. Data Sources/Study Setting. The Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF), December 2006–May 2008. Study Design. Three pilot studies: (1) Comparing mail versus telephone versus clinic visit questionnaire distribution; (2) comparing the front desk method (FDM) versus exam room method (ERM) in the clinic visit; and (3) determining resource allocation necessary for data entry. Data Collection/Extraction Methods. Studies were planned and executed by PAMF's Quality and Planning division. Principal Findings. Collecting r/e/l data during clinic visits elicited the highest response rate. The FDM yielded higher response rate than the ERM. One full‐time equivalent is initially necessary for data entry. Conclusions. Conducting sequential studies can help guide r/e/l collection in a short time frame.