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Veracity, one of the five V's used to describe big data, has received attention when it comes to using electronic medical record data for research purposes. In this perspective article, we discuss the idea of data veracity and associated concepts as it relates to the use of electronic medical record data and administrative data in research. We discuss the idea that electronic medical record data are "good enough" for clinical practice and, as such, are "good enough" for certain applications. We then propose three primary issues to attend to when establishing data veracity: data provenance, cross validation, and context.

Fitness bands are widely available and assist with tracking the number of steps taken. However, for older people with slow gaits, shorter step widths and/or use of ambulatory devices, the accuracy of fitness bands for step counting has not been well studied. Using four commercially available fitness bands (Garmin Vivofit2™, Fitbit Flex™, Up3™ and Microsoft Band™), we studied 30 older people with varying ambulatory abilities. We videotaped participants walking and compared the videotaped step count with the fitness band counts. Only 5 of the 30 participants had accurate readings within a ±20 percent accuracy for all four bands. There was no relationship between the step speed and accuracy of the fitness bands. Participants using walkers and walking sticks had none of the bands that met the ±20 percent accuracy. Canes were more variable with accuracy. Fitness band manufacturers may need to tune their algorithms for use by older people.

The recommendations for influenza and pneumococcal vaccines are widely known yet the rates of both immunizations for home health care patients are 70 percent or less. The purpose of this study was to identify the facilitators and barriers to immunizations ultimately to improve vaccination rates among home health care patients. Using a multi-case study approach with five agencies and one group of administrators, facilitators included providing patients with a vaccine "card" and using the agency electronic medical record (EMR) for decision support/reminders. We determined that there were patient barriers (misperceptions about vaccines in general, difficulty in recalling vaccine status) and provider barriers (misperceptions about vaccines among health care workers, home health care agencies not receiving accurate information from other providers or difficulty in determining vaccine status).

Health care reform focuses on primary care and development of Health Care Homes to improve patient-centered chronic illness care. This pilot study evaluated a community care team intervention that linked chronically ill older patients, support persons, and nurse care coordinators from a Health Care Home with community resources using an adaptation of the Wraparound process. A pragmatic clinical trial design was used. Patient-centered chronic illness care; physical, mental, and social health; service use; and study feasibility were evaluated. Differences between groups were compared using two-sample t, Wilcoxon rank sum, chi-square, or Fisher's exact tests. At 3 months, the intervention group reported higher patient-centered chronic illness care (mean total Patient Assessment of Chronic Illness Care change scores were 0.39 for the intervention group and -0.11 for the control group, p = .03). Results indicate that the integrated community care team intervention is a promising strategy to support patient-centered chronic illness care.