Intensive care unit (ICU) data systems serve a variety of valuable functions for ICU directors, quality-of-care managers, safety officers and health service researchers. Although controversial, severity adjusted mortality cross-linked with resource measures may provide additional value when comparisons are made to similar types of ICUs. This article describes several options for improving the standardized mortality ratio. An essential ingredient for fostering wider application of ICU data systems is through automated information technology to assure high quality data input and to minimize the burden of manual data collection effort.