Evaluation of Electronic Health Records Quality in Outpatient and Inpatient Healthcare Services Using PDQI-9

Despite technological developments in healthcare services, increasing investments, and ongoing research, there are still no standardized definitions for software tools, functions, or datasets related to electronic health records (EHRs). Data entry into EHRs is shaped by the documentation practices, roles, knowledge, and skills of the individuals entering the data. High-quality EHR data are essential for increasing the efficiency of digital healthcare services, facilitating data analysis, and supporting clinical decision-making processes. This study aimed to evaluate admission notes recorded in the EHR system during outpatient and inpatient healthcare services using PDQI-9. The study included EHRs of patients admitted to the general pediatrics outpatient clinic and the pediatric intensive care unit of Adana City Training and Research Hospital between 01 September 2025 and 31 October 2025. Admission notes of patients receiving inpatient and outpatient healthcare services demonstrated moderate to high levels of documentation quality, and no statistically significant difference was found between the total PDQI-9 scores of the two groups. However, differences were identified between inpatient and outpatient admission notes in terms of specific data quality indicators, particularly accuracy, thoroughness, succinctness, and synthesis. No differences were observed in the indicators of being up-to-date, useful, organized, comprehensible, and internally consistent, or in the overall impression scores of PDQI-9. EHR data quality is a fundamental component of quality and efficiency in healthcare. Therefore, data quality should be regularly monitored using reliable and objective tools. PDQI-9 is an appropriate, practical, and easy-to-use method for evaluating admission notes of both patients presenting to outpatient clinics and critically ill patients admitted to intensive care units.