Missing clinical information is an important issue

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

A survey of doctors shows that information they need about patients is often missing.
Information about patients comes from many sources and is of various kinds. Ideally, the doctor should always have ready access to it but, in the first study of its kind, researchers at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, reveal that this isn't always the case.

In a survey of 32 primary care clinics, they found that information is missing for one in seven patient visits. And about half the time, the doctors felt this could affect patient care. Typically, test results or medication information would go missing. There are many reasons why this happens, such as poor communications and lack of integration of the healthcare system, but efforts clearly need to be made to manage information better for the sake of the patient.

Source
Journal of the American Medical Association 2nd February 2005 Volume 293 pages 565-571