Auditing quality in kidney disease and diabetes: is the precise the enemy of the good? A commentary on difficulties auditing pathology results containing 'greater than' or 'less than' signs

Abstract

Primary care informatics is the scientific discipline which seeks to improve health andmedical care through the better use of data, information and knowledge. However, for use to be made of data they need to be provided in a form whereby they can readily be processed into information. In a previous editorial we attacked the use of codes which did not say whether a plasma (blood) glucose result was fasted, random or part of a glucose tolerance test. This time we turn our attention to the use of ‘greater than’ (>) or ‘less than’ (<) signs in pathology results and their implications for audit.