Collecting patient race/ethnicity and primary language data in ambulatory care settings: a case study in methodology.

摘要

OBJECTIVE: To collect patient race/ethnicity and language (r/e/l) in an ambulatory care setting. DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING: The Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF), December 2006-May 2008. STUDY DESIGN: Three pilot studies: (1) Comparing mail versus telephone versus clinic visit questionnaire distribution; (2) comparing the front desk method (FDM) versus exam room method (ERM) in the clinic visit; and (3) determining resource allocation necessary for data entry. DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS: Studies were planned and executed by PAMF's Quality and Planning division. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Collecting r/e/l data during clinic visits elicited the highest response rate. The FDM yielded higher response rate than the ERM. One full-time equivalent is initially necessary for data entry. CONCLUSIONS: Conducting sequential studies can help guide r/e/l collection in a short time frame.