Abstract
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Aim: In Australia, outcome registries are becoming increasingly valuable as they are seen to help drive
improvements in patient outcomes. The aim of this presentation is to provide an overview of PCOC’s methods
to improve the quality and completeness of the PCOC data. This ensures accurate reporting of patient
outcomes back to services, which drives quality improvement.
Methods: A descriptive analysis of PCOC’s data quality from 2008−2018, and review of data quality and
management strategies during this time.
Results: In 2008, there were 75 sites submitting PCOC data with some national data item completion rates
as low as 60%. In 2018, there were 150 sites submitting data with national data item completion rates above
90%. Data quality checking and management processes have been introduced to improve quality of the
data including: introducing a new data quality checking system, DataManager, to have more sophisticated
error checking and cross-referencing; introduction of data summaries at time of submission for real time
feedback on the data submitted; engaging the clinical team in the data submission process to ensure clinical
correctness; and some reporting at time of finalising the data for quicker feedback to services. With each
process introduced, PCOC has seen a corresponding improvement in data quality.
Conclusion: Through routine feedback to services and consistent data checking processes, it is possible to
improve the data quality and completeness of a national outcomes registry. The PCOC data processes contain
a robust quality assurance plan, which allows ongoing monitoring of the completeness and accuracy of the
information collected. The net benefit of data managers, healthcare professionals and improvement facilitators
working together to improve data quality for the benefit of patients is far greater than the management of data
quality alone by data managers.