Facilitator Handbook 2005 - PRIMIS

The MIQUEST Process
PRIMIS Facilitator Handbook
The MIQUEST Process
Background
MIQUEST stands for: Morbidity Information Query and Export Syntax and is a software tool to
extract and aggregate comparable data from disparate GP systems. It is a method for
extracting data in a computer-readable form that uses a common query language for health
known as Health Query Language (HQL) and can therefore be used with a variety of different
GP clinical computer systems, using the system’s own MIQUEST interpreter. Both MIQUEST
and the system interpreters incorporate various security and confidentiality safeguards which
enforce security constraints to prevent unauthorised extraction of patient-identifiable data.
MIQUEST has been endorsed by the NHS as the recommended method of expressing queries
and extracting data from different types of practice systems and it has therefore been adopted
as the standard method for PRIMIS.
MIQUEST in itself is not a data quality improvement method, but is one of the many tools that
an information facilitator will use when working with a practice to improve their data quality.
MIQUEST Enquirer software is Crown Copyright, for use only by authorised personnel within
the NHS. Technical maintenance and development support for MIQUEST Enquirer is provided
by NHS Connecting for Health, but the suppliers of each GP computer system are responsible
for support and maintenance of their system’s own MIQUEST interpreter.
MIQUEST is available on the majority of GP clinical computer systems that are in use today.
This is because it is part of the General Medical Practice Computer Systems – Requirements
for Accreditation (RFA99) scheme. Where MIQUEST is available for a particular GP clinical
system, it should be used as the preferred method of extraction of data from that system for
PRIMIS purposes.
MIQUEST Enquirer software includes a Query Manager to facilitate the distribution of queries
and a Response Manager to organise and aggregate the responses received from participants
in a local or national data collection scheme. An HQL Editor is also available to facilitate the
writing of queries. However, it should be noted that the construction of a MIQUEST query set
and the coding required for it can be complex and often time consuming, requiring both clinical
and technical input.
The responses from a MIQUEST-generated query are created as Comma Separated Value
(CSV) files. Analytical tools such as PRIMIS Rush and CHART use these files to create easyto-view
graphs, summary sheets and spreadsheets, enabling trained information facilitators to
interpret and make sense of the data extracted.
The Training
The training takes place over two full days and is run on an individual scheme basis.
Prior to training, information facilitators will be required to install the MIQUEST software on
their PC or laptop. This is available from Connecting for Health on a CD-ROM. Contact the
Connecting for Health helpdesk on 01392 251289, or email helpdesk@nhsia.nhs.uk or visit
www.nhsia.nhs.uk/nhais/pages/products/vaprod/miquest/ to fill out an online request form.
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