Optimizing accuracy of birth certificate data through a statewide quality improvement initiative in Illinois.

Objective: This study examines improvement in birth certificate accuracy during a statewide quality improvement initiative.

Study Design: Participating hospitals systematically sampled 10 delivery medical records per month and compared them to corresponding birth certificates for accuracy. Accuracy was computed before implementing the initiative (Aug-Oct 2014), end of phase 1 (July 2015) and end of phase 2 (Nov-Dec 2015). Accuracy data was aggregated and compared across time points using a linear mixed model and by hospital characteristics.

Results: 105 hospitals participated. Birth certificate accuracy increased between baseline (89.59%) and end of phase 2 (97.00%, p < 0.001). Percent accuracy at baseline was lowest in hospitals serving at-risk populations (p < 0.01). These hospitals showed relatively greater increases in overall accuracy with no difference in accuracy by the end of the initiative.

Conclusions: A statewide QI effort contributed to improvements in birth certificate accuracy. Hospitals serving at-risk populations exhibited the greatest benefit and improvement.