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Automated Entry of Hospital Infection Surveillance Data

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Edward T.M. Smyth ,
Gerard McIlvenny ,
Jack G. Barr ,
Lorna M. Dickson  and
Irene M. Thompson
Edward T.M. Smyth*
Affiliation:
Department of Bacteriology, The Royal Hospitals, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Gerard McIlvenny
Affiliation:
Department of Bacteriology, The Royal Hospitals, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Jack G. Barr
Affiliation:
Department of Bacteriology, The Royal Hospitals, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Lorna M. Dickson
Affiliation:
Department of Bacteriology, The Royal Hospitals, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Irene M. Thompson
Affiliation:
Department of Bacteriology, The Royal Hospitals, Belfast, Northern Ireland
*
Department of Bacteriology, Kelvin Bldg, The Royal Hospitals, Belfast, BT12 6BA, Northern Ireland
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Abstract

Objective:

To assess the accuracy of an automated data entry system employing optical scanning technology and to provide an analysis of its costs as compared to manual data entry.

Design:

The accuracy and cost of automated data entry of 100 surgical-wound infection surveillance questionnaires was compared to manual entry.

Setting:

The Surgical Directorate, The Royal Hospitals, Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Results:

The use of optical scanning technology greatly improved the speed and accuracy of data entry. The time spent by the keyboard operator on data entry was reduced substantially.

For each surgical-wound infection questionnaire automatically processed, there was a saving in clerical time equivalent to $0.63. The automated data entry process resulted in a 22-fold productivity increase compared to manual data entry with validation. After validation, an error rate of <0.2 errors per 1,000 responses was detected in automatically entered data compared to a rate of 12.4 errors per 1,000 responses for manually entered data. The automated system, including validation, provided a sevenfold productivity increase compared to “quick-and-dirty” manual data entry without validation.

Conclusion:

Hospital information technology systems may achieve total integration of data management, but realistically this would appear to be very much in the future. Until then, in view of the accuracy and substantial savings in time and money, we recommend the use of automated data entry technology. This system would be especially useful where data are transported from outlying hospitals to a central receiving center for collation and analysis.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 18 , Issue 7 , July 1997 , pp. 486 - 491
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 1997

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