Can data in electronic medical records be trusted?

If the subject is respiratory rates, the answer is “No” according to a recent study. The authors reviewed the records of 28,500 patients over 220,000 hospital days and found recorded maximum respiratory rates “were not normally distributed but were right skewed with values clustered at 18 to 20 breaths per minute.”

The figure below shows maximum respiratory rates compared to heart rates which were normally distributed.

Reminder: Most sources say the normal respiratory rate of an adult ranges from 12 to 20 breaths per minute.