Establishing a sorting protocol for healthcare databases

 https://doi.org/10.4081/jphr.2021.1722
  • Elie Ghabi
    Faculty of Medicine, University of Balamand, Lebanon.
    https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9026-9681
  • Wehbeh Farah
    UEGP, Faculty of Sciences, Saint Joseph University of Beirut, Lebanon.
  • Maher Abboud
    UEGP, Faculty of Sciences, Saint Joseph University of Beirut, Lebanon.
  • Elias Chalhoub
    Medical Laboratory Sciences Department, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Balamand, Lebanon.
  • Nelly Ziade
    Faculty of Medicine, Saint Joseph University of Beirut, Lebanon.
    https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4479-7678
  • Isabella Annesi-Maesano
    Institut Pierre Louis d’Epidémiologie et de Santé Publique, Equipe EPAR, Sorbonne Universités, Paris, France.
  • Laurie Abi-Habib
    Public Health Department, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Balamand, Lebanon.
  • Myriam Mrad Nakhle
    Public Health Department, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Balamand, Lebanon.
    https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0030-0700

ABSTRACT

Background: Health information records in many countries, especially developing countries, are still paper based. Compared to electronic systems, paper-based systems are disadvantageous in terms of data storage and data extraction. Given the importance of health records for epidemiological studies, guidelines for effective data cleaning and sorting are essential. They are, however, largely absent from the literature. The following paper discusses the process by which an algorithm was developed for the cleaning and sorting of a database generated from emergency department records in Lebanon.

Design and methods
: Demographic and health related information were extracted from the emergency department records of three hospitals in Beirut. Appropriate categories were selected for data categorization. For health information, disease categories and codes were selected according to the International Classification of Disease 10th Edition.

Results
: A total of 16,537 entries were collected. Demographic information was categorized into groups for future epidemiological studies. Analysis of the health information led to the creation of a sorting algorithm which was then used to categorize and code the health data. Several counts were then performed to represent and visualize the data numerically and graphically.

Conclusions
: The article describes the current state of health information records in Lebanon and the associated disadvantages of a paper-based system in terms of storage and data extraction. Furthermore, the article describes the algorithm by which health information was sorted and categorized to allow for future data analysis using paper records.

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