Patient-carried card prompts vs computer-generated prompts to remind private practice physicians to perform health maintenance measures

• HIT Description: Computer-generated prevention reminders. More info...
  
• Purpose of Study: Evaluate the efficacy of a computer-generated health maintenance prompt sheet for physicians.
  
• Years of study: Not Available
  
• Study Design: RCT
  
• Outcomes: Impact on health care effectivness/quality
  

• Settings: The study was performed in private practice offices in rural eastern North Carolina, with 28 family practitioners and nine general internists participating.
• Intervention: The efficacy of a computer-generated prompt sheet placed on the front of patients' charts was compared to with a patient-carried prompt card to remind physicians to perform selected health maintenance items.
• Evaluation Method: Measure of screening rates of health maintenance items.
• Quality of Care and Patient Safety Outcome: There was a 7% increase in the performance of influenza vaccinations in the card group (17% vs. 24%) compared with a 6% increase in the computer group (20% vs. 26%). There was a 5% decrease in the performance of stool for occult blood in the card group (28% vs. 23%) compared with a 1% increase in the computer group (30% vs. 31%). There was an 11% decrease in the performance of pap smears in the card group (26% vs. 15%) compared with a 3% increase in the computer group (23% vs. 26%). There was a 2% decrease in the performance of breast examinations by the physician in the card group (35% vs. 33%) compared with a 3% increase in the computer group (30% vs. 33%). Finally, there was a 3% increase in the performance of mammograms in the card group (22% vs. 25%) compared with an 11% increase in the computer group (15% vs. 26%).