Missing medical records: an obstacle to archival survey-research in a rural community in South Africa

Keeping good quality medical records is an essential yet oftenneglected part of a health-care practitioner’s workload. In South Africa, by lawall health care facilities are required to retain medical records for a minimum ofsix years after the cessation of a patient’s treatment. In an archival surve...

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Main Authors: L. Wegner, A. Rhoda
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: AOSIS 2013-12-01
Series:South African Journal of Physiotherapy
Online Access:https://sajp.co.za/index.php/sajp/article/view/24
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author L. Wegner
A. Rhoda
author_facet L. Wegner
A. Rhoda
author_sort L. Wegner
collection DOAJ
description Keeping good quality medical records is an essential yet oftenneglected part of a health-care practitioner’s workload. In South Africa, by lawall health care facilities are required to retain medical records for a minimum ofsix years after the cessation of a patient’s treatment. In an archival survey thatwas attempted in a rural community in South Africa, only 39% of the recordsthat were requested were located. The procedure that was followed in order toobtain the records to be included in the survey is briefly described in this paper,highlighting the challenges experienced in four district hospitals in this community.The phenomenon has serious implications not only for the quality of healthcare,incidence of iatrogenic injuries and the future of the health-care practitioner’s career, but it also impacts on the ability to conductresearch to inform practice. An aspect that is not often considered is the impact of poor record keeping on the research and teachingcomponent of the broader medical profession.
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spelling doaj.art-11571ae4bbde4a03ad67b890fb1b69982022-12-21T22:51:05ZengAOSISSouth African Journal of Physiotherapy0379-61752410-82192013-12-01692151910.4102/sajp.v69i2.2424Missing medical records: an obstacle to archival survey-research in a rural community in South AfricaL. Wegner0A. Rhoda1University of the Western Cape.University of the Western Cape.Keeping good quality medical records is an essential yet oftenneglected part of a health-care practitioner’s workload. In South Africa, by lawall health care facilities are required to retain medical records for a minimum ofsix years after the cessation of a patient’s treatment. In an archival survey thatwas attempted in a rural community in South Africa, only 39% of the recordsthat were requested were located. The procedure that was followed in order toobtain the records to be included in the survey is briefly described in this paper,highlighting the challenges experienced in four district hospitals in this community.The phenomenon has serious implications not only for the quality of healthcare,incidence of iatrogenic injuries and the future of the health-care practitioner’s career, but it also impacts on the ability to conductresearch to inform practice. An aspect that is not often considered is the impact of poor record keeping on the research and teachingcomponent of the broader medical profession.https://sajp.co.za/index.php/sajp/article/view/24
spellingShingle L. Wegner
A. Rhoda
Missing medical records: an obstacle to archival survey-research in a rural community in South Africa
South African Journal of Physiotherapy
title Missing medical records: an obstacle to archival survey-research in a rural community in South Africa
title_full Missing medical records: an obstacle to archival survey-research in a rural community in South Africa
title_fullStr Missing medical records: an obstacle to archival survey-research in a rural community in South Africa
title_full_unstemmed Missing medical records: an obstacle to archival survey-research in a rural community in South Africa
title_short Missing medical records: an obstacle to archival survey-research in a rural community in South Africa
title_sort missing medical records an obstacle to archival survey research in a rural community in south africa
url https://sajp.co.za/index.php/sajp/article/view/24
work_keys_str_mv AT lwegner missingmedicalrecordsanobstacletoarchivalsurveyresearchinaruralcommunityinsouthafrica
AT arhoda missingmedicalrecordsanobstacletoarchivalsurveyresearchinaruralcommunityinsouthafrica