Health care records are comprehensive in nature, and provide continuity of health care; therefore, they are vital components in the delivery of services. Health care records also are extremely important for researchers, since they are a rich source of critical information, and the documentation in them is considered to be legally and medically accurate and reliable. This paper examines the advantages and disadvantages of using health care records as data sources for research and discusses the research method issues related to these data sources. The issues addressed are illustrated with examples from three large studies in which health care record reviews represented the only source of data or were a primary information source.
Literature helps to dispel the false notion of a monolithic culture. Reflecting on reputable literature helps us hear the stories of those we hope to help and heal.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.