Improving data quality and clinical records: Lessons from the UK National Programme about structure, process and utility

Background: Sharing of health data should improve patient safety and improve health services efficiency. These data can also be used for research. The shared data are usually “coded” using a coding system classification or nomenclature. However, “coding” is not a neutral action and is part of the complex social interaction between doctor and patient To derive meaning from data it is essential to understand the context in which it is recorded and to infer whether data recorded for one purpose is usable in another. Most of the existing models to raise data quality (DQ) are descriptive and don’t necessarily inform why lessons from one health system might be applied in anther.