Evaluating primary ambulatory care with a health information system

This paper describes one method by which data from a computer based health information system are used to screen the ambulatory care experiences of family practice residents. The steps in the evaluation process are discussed. Data collection techniques and definition of the reference population against which comparisons among the residents are made are also explained. The evaluation process is based on initial observations to answer progressively more specific questions about the resident-patient encounters. This approach is acceptable to faculty for several reasons: (1) data are timely and require minimal extra effort for collection, (2) resident discrepancies are easily identified, (3) data summaries are concise and easy to interpret, (4) cost effectiveness of resident performance can be evaluated, and (5) data are organized around a patient and the encounters he or she has had with all residents providing care.