Background
Hospitals need data for multiple purposes: Under Wisconsin law (s.69.14), hospitals are required to file birth certificates for infants born in their institutions. Hospitals also report quality data to various state agencies. Finally, hospitals use data for internal reporting and monitoring processes, as well as quality improvement initiatives.
Since 1989, many Wisconsin birth hospitals had been using a DOS-based software system that allowed hospitals to collect perinatal data in a single system and report necessary information to various entities, including the State of Wisconsin and primary care providers.
Implementation
The Center for Urban Population Health – University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) and WAPC successfully developed a platform that provides several user benefits, including state of the art web access, improved personnel utilization, improved data retrieval, and immediate access to data for perinatal quality improvement.
In addition to State Vital Records’ field requirements, this comprehensive platform incorporates both the 2003 Revision of the U.S. Standard Certificate of Birth (CDC) and the WAPC Data Committee’s field recommendations for quality monitoring purposes. Key features include flexible data management and reporting options, allowing mother and infant records to be linked, online user guides, help screens, and telephone help desk support, and high on-site and web access security.
Current Status
Eighty-nine birth hospitals are participating in PeriData.Net and have entered over 120,000 births into the system. Over 90% of births in Wisconsin birth hospitals and centers will be part of PeriData.Net in 2008.
Further Information
Visit the WAPC website and click on PeriData.Net.
Trina Salm Ward, M.S.W.
(414) 219-4084
Ann E. Conway, R.N., M.S., M.P.A.
Executive Director, Wisconsin Association for Perinatal Care
McConnell Hall
1010 Mound Street
Madison, WI 53715
(608) 417-6060
Dale Steber, M.S.
Supervisor, Information Technology, Center for Urban Population Health
(414) 219-6536
