Three steps to data quality.

The quality of data in general practice clinical information systems varies enormously. This variability jeopardizes the proposed national strategy for an integrated care records service and the capacity of primary care organisations to respond coherently to the demands of clinical governance and the proposed quality-based general practice contract. This is apparent in the difficulty in automating the audit process and in comparing aggregated data from different practices. In an attempt to provide data of adequate quality to support such operational needs, increasing emphasis is being placed on the standardisation of data recording