Are Clinicians Using Routinely Collected Data to Drive Practice Improvement? A Cross Sectional Survey.

2021-10-20

Gawthorne, Julie

Fasugba, Oyebola

Levi, Chris

McInnes, Elizabeth

Ferguson, Caleb

McNeil, John

Cadilhac, Dominique A

Everett, Bronwyn

Fernandez, Ritin

Fry, Margaret

Goldsmith, Helen

Hickman, Louise

Jackson, Deborah

Maguire, Jane

Murray, Edel

Perry, Lin

Middleton, Sandy

Journal Article

0000-0002-2417-2216

0000-0003-1265-7096

0000-0001-8162-682X

10.1093/intqhc/mzab141

Clinical registry participation is a measure of healthcare quality. Limited knowledge exists on Australian hospitals participation in clinical registries and whether this registry data informs quality improvement initiatives. Hence, our study aimed to; identify participation in clinical registries; determine if registry data inform quality improvement initiatives; identify registry participation enablers; and clinicians' educational needs to improve use of registry data to drive practice change. : A self-administered survey was distributed to staff coordinating registries in seven hospitals in New South Wales, Australia. Eligible registries were international, national and state-based clinical, condition/disease-specific and device/product registries. : Response rate was 70% (97/139). Sixty-two (64%) respondents contributed data to 46 eligible registries. Registry reports were most often received by nurses (61%) and infrequently by hospital executives (8.4%). Less than half used registry data 'always' or 'often' to influence practice improvement (48%) and care pathways (49%). Protected time for data collection (87%) and benchmarking (79%) were 'very likely' or 'likely' to promote continued participation. Over half 'strongly agreed' or 'agreed' that clinical practice improvement training (79%) and evidence-practice gap identification (77%) would optimise use of registry data. : Registry data are generally only visible to local speciality units and not routinely used to inform quality improvement. Centralised on-going registry funding, accessible and transparent integrated information systems, combined with data informed improvement science education could be first steps to promote quality data-driven clinical improvement initiatives.

link

International journal for quality in health care 2021; 33(4): mzab141

International journal for quality in health care