Health services research (HSR) exemplifies some of the greatest hopes and greatest fears for collecting and analyzing computerized personal health information. Information routinely collected in the course of providing and paying for health care can be used by researchers to investigate the relative effectiveness of alternative clinical interventions, of alternative methods of organizing, delivering, and paying for health care, and of a variety of health care policies. Such research may improve the effectiveness and efficiency of health care. For example, HSR has identified significant variation in outcomes of care for a specific health problem according to the specialty of the clinician, type of insurance or reimbursement, and gender or.
