Patient Care Report (PCR)

Data Collection Type
National data collections of health and social care in Ireland
Organisation

Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council

Year established

2005 — commenced in the HSE National Ambulance Service and rolled out nationally over a six-month period.
2006 to 2008 — roll out by voluntary, auxiliary and private licensed Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPG) providers who operate an ambulance. 

Statement of purpose

To facilitate: 

  • a national framework to record accurate, complete and timely pre-hospital patient data which will provide a vital link in the continuum of patient care in the hospital/destination facility
  • robust national clinical audit
  • strategic planning
  • research into new skill, services/equipment.
Coverage

2005/2006 (national statutory ambulance services) 
2008 (private, auxiliary and voluntary licensed CPG providers who operate an ambulance service).

Description

The Patient Care Report (PCR) is the principal source of patient data collection pre-hospital from time of call receipt by the pre-hospital practitioner to handover of patient at ED/destination facility. In the event of an ambulance service not utilising the Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council (PHECC) PCR, the PHECC Information standard contains the dataset on which any alternative PCR is designed.   

Data content

The PCR collects patient demographic data, detailed patient assessment clinical data, medical interventions, medications administered, destination handover data, practitioner and administrative data.

Data providers

Pre-hospital licensed CPG providers who operate an ambulance service. 

Data collection methodology

Patient information is entered on the two-part PCR in real time for every patient contact. 
The PCR must be completed in all circumstances for: 

  • all emergency calls
  • all urgent calls 
  • all calls where a practitioner has to treat a patient 
  • all calls involving refusal of treatment and or transport contrary to the advice given by the practitioner
  • all calls where patient is treated at scene and not transported. 

Paper-based system: 
A PCR copy is included in handover at the emergency department (ED)/destination facility and stored with the hospital record/chart. The remaining copy is returned to the licensed CPG provider organisation for storage. 

Data dictionary

Not available.
Information Standard details PCR data set.

Clinical coding scheme

Clinical impression, mechanism of injury and incident location terminology are all compliant with International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision, Australian Modification (ICD-10-AM).  

Size of national collection

Information not available to PHECC as patient records processed and controlled by the licensed CPG provider who operates an ambulance service.

Publication frequency

No data published by PHECC as PHECC publishes the standard and related patient report form only. PHECC has no oversight on data collected other than review of clinical audits submitted as a requirement of the annual licensed provider approval process.

Accessing data

Access to data through the individual licensed CPG provider who use the PCR. 

Open data portal access

No

Email contact
Telephone contact
Other comments

All PHECC information standards and related patient report forms are reviewed at least every three years to assess compliance with national data collection standards and to assess the care delivered in the pre-hospital environment by practitioners.