[Use of clinical databanks with special reference to gerontologic-geriatric quality assurance]

Geriatric institutions enforce clinical documentation in order to assure quality of care. Different means include basic information of the clinical course, data gathering by administration and extractions from research projects. The use of electronic data bases and common data processing shall provide a base for the development of a cooperation network, academic progress, quality assurance programs and models of utilization review. In this article, clinical data bases are defined and described with reference to their organization. Data elements collected depend on the focus and function of a data base which must be considered in developing a quality assurance program. Usually there is a focus on 1) therapy, device or procedures or 2) diseases or populations. However, the measurement of variables concerning health aspects of older patients crosses more than one dimension. Geriatric teams may have an advantage in developing a successful data base because of the fact that this requires a multidisciplinary team. It is necessary to follow principles of quality assurance and well-defined data base design in order to succeed in enforcing the objectives mentioned above.