HIQA recommends improvements in information management practices in CIDR

Dr Barbara Foley, our Health Information Quality Manager delivering a presentation at the Health Informatics Society of Ireland conference in November on how our review programme is driving improvements in the quality of health information in Ireland.
Dr Barbara Foley, our Health Information Quality Manager delivering a presentation at the Health Informatics Society of Ireland conference in November on how our review programme is driving improvements in the quality of health information in Ireland.

Our review of the HSE’s Computerised Infectious Disease Reporting (CIDR) system makes eight recommendations to improve information management related to CIDR. HIQA is reviewing compliance with information management standards in all major national health and social care data collections within the HSE.

CIDR is Ireland’s system for surveillance of notifiable infectious diseases in Ireland. It is one of the most important collections of health data within the HSE and is managed by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC).

The system was established with a national oversight committee in place, but HIQA found ineffective oversight of CIDR. The director position in the HPSC was vacant for a three-year period, which meant there was no dedicated senior person responsible for the service during that time. We also identified the need to develop an overarching strategy for information management across the public health service, incorporating CIDR as part of this. The HPSC demonstrated good practice in a number of areas, including information governance and IT security. However, there is a need for the HPSC to develop an overarching data quality framework.

Find out more.