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Leightley D, Palmer L, Williamson C, Leal R, Chandran D, Murphy D, Fear NT, Stevelink SAM. Identifying Military Service Status in Electronic Healthcare Records from Psychiatric Secondary Healthcare Services: A Validation Exercise Using the Military Service Identification Tool. Healthcare (Basel) 2023; 11:healthcare11040524. [PMID: 36833058 PMCID: PMC9957026 DOI: 10.3390/healthcare11040524] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2022] [Revised: 02/03/2023] [Accepted: 02/07/2023] [Indexed: 02/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Electronic healthcare records (EHRs) are a rich source of information with a range of uses in secondary research. In the United Kingdom, there is no pan-national or nationally accepted marker indicating veteran status across all healthcare services. This presents significant obstacles to determining the healthcare needs of veterans using EHRs. To address this issue, we developed the Military Service Identification Tool (MSIT), using an iterative two-staged approach. In the first stage, a Structured Query Language approach was developed to identify veterans using a keyword rule-based approach. This informed the second stage, which was the development of the MSIT using machine learning, which, when tested, obtained an accuracy of 0.97, a positive predictive value of 0.90, a sensitivity of 0.91, and a negative predictive value of 0.98. To further validate the performance of the MSIT, the present study sought to verify the accuracy of the EHRs that trained the MSIT models. To achieve this, we surveyed 902 patients of a local specialist mental healthcare service, with 146 (16.2%) being asked if they had or had not served in the Armed Forces. In total 112 (76.7%) reported that they had not served, and 34 (23.3%) reported that they had served in the Armed Forces (accuracy: 0.84, sensitivity: 0.82, specificity: 0.91). The MSIT has the potential to be used for identifying veterans in the UK from free-text clinical documents and future use should be explored.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Leightley
- King’s Centre for Military Health Research, King’s College London, Weston Education Centre, Cutcombe Road, London SE5 9RJ, UK
- Correspondence:
| | - Laura Palmer
- King’s Centre for Military Health Research, King’s College London, Weston Education Centre, Cutcombe Road, London SE5 9RJ, UK
| | - Charlotte Williamson
- King’s Centre for Military Health Research, King’s College London, Weston Education Centre, Cutcombe Road, London SE5 9RJ, UK
| | - Ray Leal
- King’s Centre for Military Health Research, King’s College London, Weston Education Centre, Cutcombe Road, London SE5 9RJ, UK
| | - Dave Chandran
- Biomedical Research Centre (BRC), Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London SE58AB, UK
| | - Dominic Murphy
- King’s Centre for Military Health Research, King’s College London, Weston Education Centre, Cutcombe Road, London SE5 9RJ, UK
- Combat Stress, Tyrwhitt House, Oaklawn Road, Leatherhead, London KT22 0BX, UK
| | - Nicola T. Fear
- King’s Centre for Military Health Research, King’s College London, Weston Education Centre, Cutcombe Road, London SE5 9RJ, UK
- Academic Department of Military Mental Health, King’s College London, Weston Education Centre, Cutcombe Road, London SE5 9RJ, UK
| | - Sharon A. M. Stevelink
- King’s Centre for Military Health Research, King’s College London, Weston Education Centre, Cutcombe Road, London SE5 9RJ, UK
- Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London SE58AB, UK
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Chui Z, Leightley D, Jones M, Landau S, McCrone P, Hayes RD, Wessely S, Fear NT, Goodwin L. Mental health problems and admissions to hospital for accidents and injuries in the UK military: A data linkage study. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0280938. [PMID: 36693079 PMCID: PMC9873160 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0280938] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2021] [Accepted: 01/12/2023] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE Accidents are the most common cause of death among UK military personnel. It is a common misconception in the general public that accidental injuries are always the result of random events, however research suggests that mental health problems and the increased levels of risky behaviour in military personnel may play a role. The objective of this study was to further our understanding of injuries and deaths not related to deployment by examining the associations of mental health, alcohol misuse and smoking with inpatient admission to hospital for accidents and injuries, and attendance to accident and emergency (A&E) departments. METHODS Data on all hospital admissions for accidents and injuries and A&E attendance at NHS hospitals in England, Scotland and Wales were linked to data on self-reported mental health problems, alcohol misuse and smoking from a large, representative UK military cohort of serving and ex-serving personnel (n = 8,602). Logistic regression was used to examine the associations between having a hospital admission for an accident or injury with self-reported mental health problems, alcohol misuse and smoking. Cox proportional-hazards regression was then conducted to assess the associations of mental health problems, alcohol misuse and smoking with time to hospital admission for an accident or injury. Finally, negative binomial regression was used to examine associations between the number of A&E attendances with mental health problems, alcohol misuse and smoking. RESULTS Personnel reporting symptoms of common mental disorder (CMD) or probable post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were more likely to have an admission to hospital for an accident or injury (fully adjusted odds ratio 1.39, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.05-1.84), than those who did not report these symptoms, and also had more attendances to A&E (fully adjusted incidence rate ratio [IRR] 1.32, 95% CI 1.16-1.51). A&E attendances were also more common in personnel who were smokers (fully adjusted IRR 1.21, 95% CI 1.09-1.35) following adjustment for demographic, military and health characteristics. CONCLUSIONS The findings suggest that accidents and injuries among military personnel are not always random events and that there are health and behavioural factors, including poor mental health and smoking, which are associated (with small effect sizes) with an increased risk of being involved in an accident. Clinicians treating individuals attending hospital after an accident should consider their healthcare needs holistically, including issues related to mental health and health damaging behaviours.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zoe Chui
- King’s Centre for Military Health Research, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
- Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
| | - Daniel Leightley
- King’s Centre for Military Health Research, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Margaret Jones
- King’s Centre for Military Health Research, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Sabine Landau
- Biostatistics & Health Informatics, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Paul McCrone
- Faculty of Education and Health, University of Greenwich, London, United Kingdom
| | - Richard D. Hayes
- Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Simon Wessely
- King’s Centre for Military Health Research, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
- Academic Department of Military Mental Health, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Nicola T. Fear
- King’s Centre for Military Health Research, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
- Academic Department of Military Mental Health, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Laura Goodwin
- Spectrum Centre for Mental Health Research, Division of Health Research, Lancaster University, Lancaster, United Kingdom
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Williamson C, Palmer L, Leightley D, Pernet D, Chandran D, Leal R, Murphy D, Fear NT, Stevelink SAM. Military veterans and civilians' mental health diagnoses: an analysis of secondary mental health services. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 2022:10.1007/s00127-022-02411-x. [PMID: 36547684 DOI: 10.1007/s00127-022-02411-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2022] [Accepted: 12/12/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Healthcare provision in the United Kingdom (UK) falls primarily to the National Health Service (NHS) which is free at the point of access. In the UK, there is currently no national marker to identify military veterans in electronic health records, nor a requirement to record it. This study aimed to compare the sociodemographic characteristics and recorded mental health diagnoses of a sample of veterans and civilians accessing secondary mental health services. METHODS The Military Service Identification Tool, a machine learning computer tool, was employed to identify veterans and civilians from electronic health records. This study compared the sociodemographic characteristics and recorded mental health diagnoses of veterans and civilians accessing secondary mental health care from South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, UK. Data from 2,576 patients were analysed; 1288 civilians and 1288 veterans matched on age and gender. RESULTS Depressive disorder was the most prevalent across both groups in the sample (26.2% veterans, 15.5% civilians). The present sample of veterans accessing support for mental health conditions were significantly more likely to have diagnoses of anxiety, depressive, psychosis, personality, and stress disorders (AORs ranging 1.41-2.84) but less likely to have a drug disorder (AOR = 0.51) than age- and gender-matched civilians. CONCLUSION Veterans accessing secondary mental health services in South London had higher risks for many mental health problems than civilians accessing the same services. Findings suggest that military career history is a key consideration for probable prognosis and treatment, but this needs corroborating in other geographical areas including national population-based studies in the UK.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte Williamson
- King's Centre for Military Health Research, King's College London, Weston Education Centre, London, SE5 9RJ, UK.
| | - Laura Palmer
- King's Centre for Military Health Research, King's College London, Weston Education Centre, London, SE5 9RJ, UK
| | - Daniel Leightley
- King's Centre for Military Health Research, King's College London, Weston Education Centre, London, SE5 9RJ, UK
| | - David Pernet
- King's Centre for Military Health Research, King's College London, Weston Education Centre, London, SE5 9RJ, UK
| | - David Chandran
- Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, SE5 8AF, UK
| | - Ray Leal
- King's Centre for Military Health Research, King's College London, Weston Education Centre, London, SE5 9RJ, UK
| | - Dominic Murphy
- King's Centre for Military Health Research, King's College London, Weston Education Centre, London, SE5 9RJ, UK.,Research Department, Combat Stress, Leatherhead, KT22 0BX, UK
| | - Nicola T Fear
- King's Centre for Military Health Research, King's College London, Weston Education Centre, London, SE5 9RJ, UK.,Academic Department of Military Mental Health, King's College London, Weston Education Centre, London, SE5 9RJ, UK
| | - Sharon A M Stevelink
- King's Centre for Military Health Research, King's College London, Weston Education Centre, London, SE5 9RJ, UK.,Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, SE5 8AF, UK
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Goodwin L, Leightley D, Chui ZE, Landau S, McCrone P, Hayes RD, Jones M, Wessely S, Fear NT. Hospital admissions for non-communicable disease in the UK military and associations with alcohol use and mental health: a data linkage study. BMC Public Health 2020; 20:1236. [PMID: 32912179 PMCID: PMC7488237 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-020-09300-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2020] [Accepted: 07/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Since the recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, the short-term focus of military healthcare research has been on the consequences of deployment for mental health and on those wounded or injured in combat. Now that these conflicts have ended for the UK Armed Forces, it is important to consider the longer term physical and mental health consequences, and just as importantly, the links between these. The aims of this study were to determine the most common physical conditions requiring a hospital admission in UK military personnel and whether they were more common in personnel with a mental health condition, smokers, and/or those misusing alcohol compared to those without. METHODS Data linkage of a prospective UK military cohort study to electronic admitted patient care records for England, Wales and Scotland. Nine thousand nine hundred ninety military personnel completed phase 2 of a military cohort study (56% response rate, data collected from 2007 to 2009), with analyses restricted to 86% of whom provided consent for linkage to healthcare records (n = 8602). Ninety percent were male and the mean age at phase 2 was 36 years. The outcome was physical non communicable diseases (NCDs) requiring a hospital admission which occurred after phase 2 of the cohort when the mental health, smoking and alcohol use exposure variables had been assessed until the end of March 2014. RESULTS The most common NCDs requiring a hospital admission were gastrointestinal disorders 5.62% (95% Confidence Intervals (CI) 5.04, 6.19) and joint disorders 5.60% (95% CI 5.02, 6.18). Number of NCDs requiring a hospital admission was significantly higher in those with a common mental disorder (Hazard ratio (HR) 1.40 (95% CI 1.16-1.68), post-traumatic stress disorder (HR 1.78 (95% CI 1.32-2.40)) and in current smokers (HR 1.35 (95% CI 1.12-1.64) compared to those without the disorder, and non-smokers, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Military personnel with a mental health problem are more likely to have an inpatient hospital admission for NCDs compared to those without, evidencing the clear links between physical and mental health in this population.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Goodwin
- Department of Psychology, University of Liverpool, Room 2.31 Eleanor Rathbone Building, Liverpool, L69 7ZA, UK.
- King's Centre for Military Health Research, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
- Liverpool Centre for Alcohol Research, Liverpool Health Partners, Liverpool, UK.
| | - D Leightley
- King's Centre for Military Health Research, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Z E Chui
- King's Centre for Military Health Research, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - S Landau
- Biostatistics & Health Informatics, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - P McCrone
- Institute for Lifecourse Development, University of Greenwich, London, UK
| | - R D Hayes
- Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - M Jones
- King's Centre for Military Health Research, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - S Wessely
- King's Centre for Military Health Research, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
- Academic Department of Military Mental Health, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - N T Fear
- King's Centre for Military Health Research, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
- Academic Department of Military Mental Health, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
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Leightley D, Pernet D, Velupillai S, Stewart RJ, Mark KM, Opie E, Murphy D, Fear NT, Stevelink SAM. The Development of the Military Service Identification Tool: Identifying Military Veterans in a Clinical Research Database Using Natural Language Processing and Machine Learning. JMIR Med Inform 2020; 8:e15852. [PMID: 32348287 PMCID: PMC7281146 DOI: 10.2196/15852] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2019] [Revised: 12/11/2019] [Accepted: 01/26/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Electronic health care records (EHRs) are a rich source of health-related information, with potential for secondary research use. In the United Kingdom, there is no national marker for identifying those who have previously served in the Armed Forces, making analysis of the health and well-being of veterans using EHRs difficult. Objective This study aimed to develop a tool to identify veterans from free-text clinical documents recorded in a psychiatric EHR database. Methods Veterans were manually identified using the South London and Maudsley (SLaM) Biomedical Research Centre Clinical Record Interactive Search—a database holding secondary mental health care electronic records for the SLaM National Health Service Foundation Trust. An iterative approach was taken; first, a structured query language (SQL) method was developed, which was then refined using natural language processing and machine learning to create the Military Service Identification Tool (MSIT) to identify if a patient was a civilian or veteran. Performance, defined as correct classification of veterans compared with incorrect classification, was measured using positive predictive value, negative predictive value, sensitivity, F1 score, and accuracy (otherwise termed Youden Index). Results A gold standard dataset of 6672 free-text clinical documents was manually annotated by human coders. Of these documents, 66.00% (4470/6672) were then used to train the SQL and MSIT approaches and 34.00% (2202/6672) were used for testing the approaches. To develop the MSIT, an iterative 2-stage approach was undertaken. In the first stage, an SQL method was developed to identify veterans using a keyword rule–based approach. This approach obtained an accuracy of 0.93 in correctly predicting civilians and veterans, a positive predictive value of 0.81, a sensitivity of 0.75, and a negative predictive value of 0.95. This method informed the second stage, which was the development of the MSIT using machine learning, which, when tested, obtained an accuracy of 0.97, a positive predictive value of 0.90, a sensitivity of 0.91, and a negative predictive value of 0.98. Conclusions The MSIT has the potential to be used in identifying veterans in the United Kingdom from free-text clinical documents, providing new and unique insights into the health and well-being of this population and their use of mental health care services.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Leightley
- King's Centre for Military Health Research, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - David Pernet
- King's Centre for Military Health Research, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Sumithra Velupillai
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.,South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom
| | - Robert J Stewart
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.,South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom
| | - Katharine M Mark
- King's Centre for Military Health Research, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Elena Opie
- King's Centre for Military Health Research, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Dominic Murphy
- King's Centre for Military Health Research, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.,Combat Stress, Letherhead, United Kingdom
| | - Nicola T Fear
- King's Centre for Military Health Research, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.,Academic Department of Military Mental Health, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Sharon A M Stevelink
- King's Centre for Military Health Research, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.,Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
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M. Mark K, Leightley D, Pernet D, Murphy D, Stevelink SA, T. Fear N. Identifying Veterans Using Electronic Health Records in the United Kingdom: A Feasibility Study. Healthcare (Basel) 2019; 8:healthcare8010001. [PMID: 31861575 PMCID: PMC7151350 DOI: 10.3390/healthcare8010001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2019] [Revised: 12/16/2019] [Accepted: 12/17/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
There is a lack of quantitative evidence concerning UK (United Kingdom) Armed Forces (AF) veterans who access secondary mental health care services-specialist care often delivered in high intensity therapeutic clinics or hospitals-for their mental health difficulties. The current study aimed to investigate the utility and feasibility of identifying veterans accessing secondary mental health care services using National Health Service (NHS) electronic health records (EHRs) in the UK. Veterans were manually identified using the Clinical Record Interactive Search (CRIS) system-a database holding secondary mental health care EHRs for an NHS Trust in the UK. We systematically and manually searched CRIS for veterans, by applying a military-related key word search strategy to the free-text clinical notes completed by clinicians. Relevant data on veterans' socio-demographic characteristics, mental disorder diagnoses and treatment pathways through care were extracted for analysis. This study showed that it is feasible, although time consuming, to identify veterans through CRIS. Using the military-related key word search strategy identified 1600 potential veteran records. Following manual review, 693 (43.3%) of these records were verified as "probable" veterans and used for analysis. They had a median age of 74 years (interquartile range (IQR): 53-86); the majority were male (90.8%) and lived alone (38.0%). The most common mental diagnoses overall were depressive disorders (22.9%), followed by alcohol use disorders (10.5%). Differences in care pathways were observed between pre and post national service (NS) era veterans. This feasibility study represents a first step in showing that it is possible to identify veterans through free-text clinical notes. It is also the first to compare veterans from pre and post NS era.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katharine M. Mark
- King’s Centre for Military Health Research, King’s College London, Weston Education Centre, Cutcombe Road, London SE5 9RJ, UK (D.L.); (D.P.); (D.M.); (N.T.F.)
| | - Daniel Leightley
- King’s Centre for Military Health Research, King’s College London, Weston Education Centre, Cutcombe Road, London SE5 9RJ, UK (D.L.); (D.P.); (D.M.); (N.T.F.)
| | - David Pernet
- King’s Centre for Military Health Research, King’s College London, Weston Education Centre, Cutcombe Road, London SE5 9RJ, UK (D.L.); (D.P.); (D.M.); (N.T.F.)
| | - Dominic Murphy
- King’s Centre for Military Health Research, King’s College London, Weston Education Centre, Cutcombe Road, London SE5 9RJ, UK (D.L.); (D.P.); (D.M.); (N.T.F.)
- Combat Stress, Tyrwhitt House, Oaklawn Road, Leatherhead KT22 0BX, UK
| | - Sharon A.M. Stevelink
- King’s Centre for Military Health Research, King’s College London, Weston Education Centre, Cutcombe Road, London SE5 9RJ, UK (D.L.); (D.P.); (D.M.); (N.T.F.)
- Department of Psychological Medicine, King’s College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF, UK
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +44-(0)20-7848-5817
| | - Nicola T. Fear
- King’s Centre for Military Health Research, King’s College London, Weston Education Centre, Cutcombe Road, London SE5 9RJ, UK (D.L.); (D.P.); (D.M.); (N.T.F.)
- Academic Department of Military Mental Health, King’s College London, Weston Education Centre, Cutcombe Road, London SE5 9RJ, UK
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Adane K, Gizachew M, Kendie S. The role of medical data in efficient patient care delivery: a review. Risk Manag Healthc Policy 2019; 12:67-73. [PMID: 31114410 PMCID: PMC6486797 DOI: 10.2147/rmhp.s179259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Implementing accurate data management systems ensure safe and efficient transfer of confidential health care data. However, health care professionals overlooked their important tasks of medical data processing. Hence, using high-quality electronic health record (EHR) applications in health care is important to minimize medical errors. Therefore, this review tries to indicate the roles of EHR in advancing quality health care service provisions. Methods The keywords identified were EHR, EMR, medical data processing, medical data retention, medical data destruction, health care, and patient care, and a few related terms with different combinations. PubMed (National Library of Medicine), Google Scholar, and Google search engine were used to search for articles from those databases. Searching was done using boolean words “AND”, “OR”, and “NOT” using all [All fields] and [MeSH Terms] searching strategies. Results Articles were screened using the title, checked by their abstract, and the remaining related full-text materials were included or excluded by two individuals deciding its eligibility. Finally, 73 materials issued from 2013–2018 were used for qualitatively synthesizing and reconciling the idea to produce this review article. Conclusion Poor medical data processing systems are the key reasons for medical errors. Employing standardized data management systems reduce errors and associated sufferings. Therefore, using electronic tools in the health care institution ensures safe and efficient data management. Therefore, it is important to establish appropriate medical data management systems for efficient health care delivery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kasaw Adane
- Unit of Quality Assurance and Laboratory Management, School of Biomedical and Laboratory Sciences, University of Gondar, Ethiopia,
| | - Mucheye Gizachew
- School of Biomedical and Laboratory Sciences, Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia
| | - Semalegne Kendie
- School of Sociology and Social Work, Department of Social Work, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia
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