Difference Between Qualitative & Quantitative Medical Record Analysis

Health care providers maintain medical records to keep data relating to patients. The information contained in these records can be analyzed qualitatively or quantitatively. Qualitative analysis involves evaluating information based on stories, social movements, responses and interactions of individuals. Quantitative analysis of medical records involves assessing medical records based on the outcomes of the population or simply analyzing different groups using numerical or statistical methods. There are various differences between the two methods of medical records analysis.

Type of Information

• Qualitative method of analysis involves describing the information provided in records through descriptive means. A nurse analyzing medical records, for instance, can investigate the medical condition of a certain group of patients and then analyze how they responded to the treatment. Quantitative analysis, on the other hand, involves retrieving information in numerical form. The nurse may use the Functional Independence Measure when collecting information about patients' functional abilities during their stay in hospital.

Focus of Analysis

• Qualitative research can be performed on an individual or several groups. This type of research is usually subjective to the group, which means the person collecting the information interprets it according to what he wants to focus on. Quantitative analysis, on the other hand, is objective and it is performed on a large number of patients for the results to be credible. The information is collected using objective measurements and diagnostic equipments.

Environment

• Qualitative research is usually conducted in the subject's natural setting whenever possible. The information is corrected from the patient in the hospital or home and analyzed. The quantitative analysis of medical records, on the other hand, is done in controlled environments where environmental factors which may affect the results are controlled.

Results

• Qualitative and quantitative analysis differ in the results they present. The results of qualitative analysis of medical records depend on how the researcher wants to approach the analysis. He may decide, for instance, to concentrate on the quality of care given to patients or the age bracket of patients treated in a given period. The end results in quantitative analysis depend purely on the provided information. For instance, if you want to find out how many patients received treatment in the hospital for malaria in a certain year, the result is constant because it is based on numbers.