Errors in a computerized medical records system (CLINICS)

The accuracy of computer-held medical information can be of critical importance in patient care, therefore it is important not only to know the error rate in the stored data but also to know the effectiveness of error checking and correction programs. This paper reports on the errors which were detected by checking the consistency between stored data and incoming data (context checks), in Southampton University Primary Medical Care computer system (CLINICS). The majority of detected errors were traced either to the registration of new patients or to the doctors failing to pay adequate attention to detail in their record keeping (or to their legibility). 7% of incoming data had errors detected by the context checking program and subsequently corrected; we calculate that the stored data contains less than 1% in error.