Assessing the feasibility of using an electronic records database system in use in a group of private chiropractic clinics for practice-based research.

Objective: To explore the feasibility of collecting aggregated patient data from the electronic records of a group of private practices and to determine the suitability of the data for comparative effectiveness or other practice-based research (PBR).

Methods: Assess the type and quality of healthrelated variables contained in a commercially available electronic records system (Vitalogics) in use in consenting chiropractor's offices. Descriptively analyze baseline patient records to identify demographic variables, vital signs, case types and diagnoses.

Results: Of the 46,000 individual patient records that were analyzed, only a fraction had usable demographic data while more than half contained ICD-9 codes, including records for non-insurance case-types. None contained outcome variables.

Conclusion: We did not find that the electronic record system we examined had the types of demographic and outcomes variables that would be useful for comparative effectiveness research. The addition of special fields to code chief complaint and health status indicators not typically included in an electronic records system would be most useful.