Absence of Standardized Trauma Data

"... Statewide trauma registries have proliferated in recent years, utilizing an amalgamation of data from stand-alone, hospital-based registries. These registries have proven effective at monitoring and evaluating statewide trauma care. However, the nature of such systems make data comparability suspect, since case abstraction is rarely calibrated between hospitals." ¹

The new dataset will allow the linkage and sharing of information of trauma databases from across the nation. This will allow for:

• Improved analysis of trauma procedures and patient care
• Comparison of data across jurisdictional and state boundaries
• Better evaluation of the trauma role in health care

Business Structure & Management Assistance

“Modern trauma systems rely on access to data to manage the health of the system and make informed decisions.” ¹

The new dataset will provide a business model for the injury community. This model will help develop:

• Protocols that are justified by factual evidence
• Budgets that can be defended by actual data
• A method to analyze performance of trauma services
• State-to-state comparison models
• Benchmarks for standards of care

The new dataset will:

• Facilitate reimbursement processes
• Provide useful information for determining national benchmarks
• Facilitate cost–benefit analyses
• Help provide links with patient outcomes for financial analysis

The new dataset will allow hospitals to:

• Determine areas for potential QA intervention
• Provide data to justify new funding or support existing programs
• Provide a basis for ongoing funding support

Education - Trauma Training & Curricula

“Variability in injury coding associated with the characterization of injuries is a major problem. Findings suggest that trauma registrars demonstrate wide variability in the interpretation and coding of injuries. The absence of a standardized national trauma database has been a significant impediment to the structuring of a coherent national injury prevention agenda.” ¹

The new dataset promotes the importance of trauma care in the health care system by:

• Providing a better understanding of injury trends
• Improving the quality of trauma treatment
• Modifying the existing injury prevention education and programs

Evaluating Patient & Injury Outcomes

The new dataset will help providers and hospitals:

• Establish reliable outcome measures
• Monitor trauma systems
• Determine which treatments are effective
• Assess which trauma system configurations are useful
• Identify and Reduce Errors
• Identify unmet needs & priorities
• Focus on data driven decision making
• Evaluate patients throughout the spectrum of care

Evaluating Resources for Disaster and Domestic Preparedness

Photo Courtesy of the FEMA Photo Library

The new dataset will provide opportunities for improvement of current disaster policies, procedures, and preparedness by:

• Providing further analysis tools for FEMA and other organizations
• Providing better data for disaster research

Facilitating Research Efforts

"If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?"
      — Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)

The new dataset will provide access to a national trauma database, which will:

• Identify national trends
• Provide a large sample of standardized data
• Allow opportunities to generate research hypotheses
• Facilitate national benchmarking