Active failing records

Owned by Joel Collins
Last updated: Sept 22, 2022
2 min read

Within the UKRDC, each time a data file fails to load due to validation issues, data integrity issues, or systematic issues within the UKRDC, that file is recorded as an individual error. If a renal unit sends a more up to date file for the same patient, this time passing validation and entering the UKRDC successfully, the original error will remain in the system.

Within the UKRDC dashboard, we are less concerned with the total number of historic errors for a patient. What we really care about is if the most recent file for a patient received from a particular feed failed due to errors or not. If a patient is most recently receiving files rejected due to errors, this means their record may be incomplete. However, if a more recent file succeeds, and that file contains correct and up to date data, their record in the UKRDC is then complete and up to date, and no longer a concern.

For example, let’s take a made-up patient, Benson Dunwoody, whose record being sent to the UKRDC from a renal unit PARK01 via a UKRDC/RDA feed. One day a member of hospital staff mistakenly enters a medication start date as 01/09/0022 instead of 01/09/2022, and a new RDA file with this information is sent to the UKRDC. Our system rejects the file, identifying an issue with the apparent medication start date.

At this point, the most recent file from PARK01 for Benson Dunwoody has failed with an error. Now, this patient will count as an active failing record.

Since the file cannot be edited once it has been received by us, the renal unit’s only choice is to correct the medication start date on their system and trigger a new RDA file to be sent. Since this new RDA file will have a new filename, it will not overwrite the previous error. That error will still show up in the error list and error history.

However, since the most recent file for Benson Dunwoody, from PARK01 is now being successfully received by the UKRDC without error, the patient no longer counts as an active failing record. All statistics for the renal unit will be updated to reflect this.