13. Information Quality in Healthcare

In this chapter, we will shortly frame information quality in healthcare as a matter of study or concern. Being aware that such a vast topic cannot be covered in one single book chapter, here we will at least orient interested readers to resources that could be consulted to get further information on this broad field of study and practice. To this aim, we will proceed as follows: firstly, we will define the kind of data or information whose quality is under consideration and possibly at stake; then, we will try to convey the importance to focus on this area of interest within the broader information quality field; lastly, we will try to consider how health practitioners see this area and how this can inform programs of quality assessment and improvement from a practice-oriented perspective. Short conclusions will summarize the main points outlined in this chapter. The chapter is organized as follows: in Sect. 13.2, we will recall some of the oft-mentioned definitions of the concepts related to the heading of this chapter. In Sect. 13.3, we outline the main challenges that are posed by the healthcare domain to those willing to address the task of improving the related information, while Sect. 13.4 provides the core notions to orient those practitioners by extracting from the relevant literature references to the main dimensions, methodologies, and initiatives where those methods and the related techniques have been applied with some success. Section 13.5 discusses the most recent trends in research on information quality in healthcare. Finally, Sect. 13.6 aims to motivate the serious practitioners and scholars to devote more efforts in the development of further tools and techniques for the clear impact that IQ can have on health outcomes, costs, and long-term sustainability of healthcare.