Adequacy of Medical Chart Review to Characterize Emergency Care for Asthma: Findings from the Illinois Emergency Department Asthma Collaborative |
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Authors: | Michael F. McDermott MD Richard O. Lenhardt MD MPH Catherine D. Catrambone DNSc RN James Walter MD Kevin B. Weiss MD |
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Affiliation: | Department of Emergency Medicine, John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County, Chicago, IL;Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL;College of Nursing, Rush University, Chicago, IL;Section of Emergency Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL;Institute for Healthcare Studies, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and Midwest Center for Health Services and Policy Research, Hines Veterans Administration Hospital, Hines, IL |
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Abstract: | Objectives: To assess the intermethod reliability of medical chart review compared with directly observed care in patients presenting to emergency departments (EDs) for asthma care. Methods: ED care practices for persons with asthma were evaluated by comparing chart review with trained observers. Fifty-one patients from five EDs participating in the Illinois Emergency Department Asthma Collaborative were studied. Practices in assessment, treatment, education, and referral were measured. Eighteen elements of care were assessed. Concordance between chart and observation was measured by using the kappa statistic. Results: Of 51 subjects studied, nine were children. Kappa values varied depending on content. Kappa values ranged from 0.22 to 0.91 for items reflecting asthma assessment. Good concordances ( κ = 0.50 to 0.82) were found for items reflecting treatment practices. The lowest concordances were for items assessing educational activities ( κ = 0.04 to 0.34). Referral practices had fair to moderate concordances ( κ = 0.21 to 0.45). Conclusions: Intermethod reliability of medical chart review and directly observed care varied depending on the element of care being measured. The use of chart review to measure quality of ED-based asthma care may only be appropriate for a limited number of care processes that are reliably and validly captured from chart review. |
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Keywords: | asthma medical chart process of care emergency department intermethod reliability direct observation |
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