Abstract
Background The aim of the national health care quality registers is to monitor, assess, and
improve the quality of care. The information utilized in quality registers must be
of high quality to ensure that the information produced by the registers is reliable
and useful. In Finland, one of the key sources of information for the quality registers
is the national Kanta services.
Objectives The objective of the study was to increase understanding of the significance of information
quality for the secondary use of the information in the national health care quality
registers and to provide information on whether the information quality of the national
Kanta services supports the information needs of the national quality registers, and
how information quality should be developed.
Methods The research data were collected by interviewing six experts responsible for national
health care quality registers, and it was analyzed using theory-driven qualitative
content analysis based on the DeLone and McLean model.
Results Based on the results, the relevance of the information in the Kanta services met
the information needs of the national quality registers. However, due to the limited
amount of structured information and deficiencies in the completeness of the information,
relevant information could not be fully utilized. Deficiencies in information quality
posed challenges in information retrieval and hindered drawing conclusions in reporting.
Challenges in information quality did not diminish the intention to use the information
when information was considered relevant. Solutions to improve information quality
included structuring, development of documentation practices, patient information
systems and quality assurance, as well as collaboration among stakeholders.
Conclusion The Kanta services' information is relevant for the national health care quality
registers, but developing the quality of the information, especially in terms of structures
and completeness, is the key to fully enabling the secondary use of this information.
Keywords
information - information quality - secondary use - quality register
