Supported by actual, relevant information. Knowledge used here means data. In health care, “knowledge” specifically means data about a particular population rather than generalizations about typical populations. The specific population may be that of a geographic community or that for which a given health care provider (HMO, MCO, physician) is responsible. The data are of two kinds: demographic data and performance data.
This term is used by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) Standard IM.9 of the chapter on Management of Information on this topic. It reads, in part: “…knowledge-based information (also referred to as ‘literature’)…for use in designing, managing, and improving patient-specific and organizational processes… “This limitation of the definition of the term depending on the use of the information is odd. The “intent” paragraph expands on the definition by requiring that “knowledge-based information refers to authoritative, up-to-date print and nonprint information resources…in print or electronic format; recent editions of texts..”.