Reporting of research data by GPs: a cautionary tale for primary care researchers

Abstract

We found that when GPs were asked to record basic clinical information, for the purposes of a primary care-based study, there was a significant level of inaccurate reporting. The results from our study confirm the importance of quality control in primary care research, especially in studies that involve GPs' reporting data.

Improving the Quality of Primary Care Data With Interoperable Standards

“…Using electronic coded primary care data will not only help healthcare providers in the development of clinical decision support systems and surveillance systems but also provide the platform for primary care researchers to conduct evidence-based research (Gormley et al, 2008;Patel et al, 2005;Smith et al, 2007).…”

“…The use of healthcare information systems to record primary care clinical data is significantly variable among general practitioners (GPs) (S. Rollason, Khunti, & de Lusignan, 2009). In a study conducted in the UK to examine the accuracy of primary care data reporting by GPs, Gormley et al (2008) found that "when GPs were asked to record basic clinical information, for the purposes of a primary care-based study, there was a significant level of inaccurate reporting" (p. 209). This variability could be attributed to lack of interoperable standards and no standardized approach to recording clinical encounters in information systems at the primary care level.…”