Operations research (OR) is playing an increasing role in the support of many health care initiatives. However one of the main challenges facing OR practitioners is the availability and the integrity of operations data. Hospital information systems (HIS) are often designed with a clinical or accounting focus and may lack the data necessary for operational studies. In this paper, we illustrate the data processing methods and data challenges faced by our team during a study of surgical scheduling practices at the Vancouver Island Health Authority. We also provide some general recommendations to improve HIS from an operations perspective. In general, more integration between operations researchers and HIS specialists are required to support ongoing operational improvements in the health care sector.