A quality-based real-time information management system within a medical environment: The case of falls assessment

A number of our daily decisions are based on information which may have originated from multiple sources e.g. patient sensors, data warehouses, etc. If a data source contains inaccurate or faulty information then the resulting actions are likely to be erroneous resulting in loss of revenue or endangering a patient's life. From this basis it is essential that data quality measures are employed at all levels from the lowest (e.g. sensor) to the highest (e.g. dashboards or other data delivery services). In this paper we evaluate the three layers of the Data Management System (DMS) generic architecture (data collection, correlation and presentation), and specifically illustrate the ability of the DMS to deliver services and high quality patient centric information to geriatric physicians in the area of falls assessment. This paper reports on the first stage of a larger ongoing research project where the DMS architecture is being extended for use in falls assessment.