Journal of Medical Systems, Vol. 23, No. 4, 1999 The Feasibility of Using Automated Data to Assess Guideline-Concordant Care for Schizophrenia Teresa J. Hudson,1,2 Richard R. Owen,1 A. Elizabeth Lancaster,1 and Lynn Mason This study examines the feasibility of using automated computer data versus written medical record data to identify patients receiving guideline concordant treatment for schizophrenia. Central elements of care derived from published practice guidelines for schizophrenia were examined for a convenience sample of28 patients who received acute inpatient treatment. The results showed that automated data were superior to medical record data for identifying some elements of guideline-concordant treatment. Not only were the elements of care examined in this study clinically significant and within the current capabilities of the existing computer information system, but they are also likely related to patient outcomes. Implications for clinical care, future research, and health care quality improvement efforts are discussed. KEY WORDS: clinical practice guidelines; chart review; automated assessment; schizophrenia. INTRODUCTION Implementation of clinical practice guidelines is an increasingly common ap- proach for improving the quality of care in many health care settings including hospitals, outpatient clinics and HMOs.(1–3) Because clinical guidelines recommend disease-specific, evidence-based evaluation and treatment practices they provide a useful framework for health care quality assessment and improvement.(4) That is, most clinical practice guidelines recommend treatment procedures and processes that have been shown to be related to good patient outcomes. Hence, it is often possible to measure whether these key processes of care occurred during the delivery of health care to provide an overall indication of treatment quality (4) Traditionally, medical record review has been the primary method used to 1HSR&D Center for Mental Healthcare and Outcomes Research, Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System, North Little Rock, Arkansas and the Centers for Mental Healthcare Research, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas. 2To whom all correspondence should be addressed at HSR&D Center for Mental Healthcare and Outcomes Research (CeMHOR), VA Medical Center (152/NLR), 2200 Ft. Roots Drive, North Little Rock, Arkansas 72114-1706. 299 0148-5598/99/0800-0299$16.00/0 C 1999 Plenum Publishing Corporation