What question did this study set out to answer?

To assess the completeness and reliability of hospital inpatient medical records for tracking patterns of cancer care across different types of oncology institutions.

May 1, 1988American Journal of Public HealthOpen Access

Studying patterns of cancer care: how useful is the medical record?

View Full Paper

Ask AI

Bookmark

Authors

PFPolly FeiglCape Town HVTN Immunology Laboratory / Hutchinson Centre Research Institute of South Africa GGGwen GlaefkeUniversity of Washington LFLeslie G. FordNational Institutes of Health

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Observational study reveals substantial variability in medical record completeness among cancer inpatients, suggesting hospital charts alone cannot fully track diagnostic and therapeutic care.

Key Points

To assess the completeness and reliability of hospital inpatient medical records for tracking patterns of cancer care across different types of oncology institutions.
Abstracted inpatient records for N=5,000 newly diagnosed cancer patients admitted in 1982–1983.
Conducted across 34 total facilities: 17 Comprehensive Cancer Centers and 17 Community Hospital Oncology Programs.
Evaluated data availability and missingness (silent record rates) across demographic, staging, diagnostic, surgical, and therapeutic variables.
Standard demographic variables, pathological stage, and surgical timing were reliably documented, with silent record rates below 5% for the typical institution.
Documentation for other diagnostic and therapeutic items showed marked incompleteness and substantial facility-to-facility variability.
Record completeness did not show systematic differences between comprehensive cancer centers and community hospital oncology programs.

Cite This Study

Feigl et al. (1988) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a7256e4b5c1fe5ca9dff9ac https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.78.5.526

View Full Paper

Ask AI

Bookmark

Implication

Observational study reveals substantial variability in medical record completeness among cancer inpatients, suggesting hospital charts alone cannot fully track diagnostic and therapeutic care.

Studying patterns of cancer care: how useful is the medical record?

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

Studying patterns of cancer care: how useful is the medical record?

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

Also Consider

Also Consider