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The effective capture of outcome measures in
the healthcare setting can be traced back to Florence Nightingale’s
investigation of the in-patient mortality of soldiers wounded in
the Crimean war in the 1850s. Only relatively recently has the formalised collection of outcomes
data into Registries been recognised as valuable in itself. With the advent of surgeon league tables and a move towards value
based health care, individuals are being driven to collect, store
and interpret data. Following the success of the National Joint Registry, the British
Association of Spine Surgeons instituted the British Spine Registry.
Since its launch in 2012, over 650 users representing the whole
surgical team have registered and during this time, more than 27 000
patients have been entered onto the database. There has been significant publicity regarding the collection
of outcome measures after surgery, including patient-reported scores.
Over 12 000 forms have been directly entered by patients themselves,
with many more entered by the surgical teams. Questions abound: who should have access to the data produced
by the Registry and how should they use it? How should the results
be reported and in what forum? Cite this article:
We explore the limitations of complete reliance
on evidence-based medicine which can be diminished by confounding
issues and sampling bias. Other strategies which may be reasonably
invoked are discussed. Cite this article:
The extent and depth of routine health care data
are growing at an ever-increasing rate, forming huge repositories
of information. These repositories can answer a vast array of questions.
However, an understanding of the purpose of the dataset used and
the quality of the data collected are paramount to determine the
reliability of the result obtained. This Editorial describes the importance of adherence to sound
methodological principles in the reporting and publication of research
using ‘big’ data, with a suggested reporting framework for future Cite this article:
This editorial examines the influence of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) on the conduct of orthopaedic surgery. It proffers criticism and suggests ways of improvement.
