| Use of a computerized data collection instrument for patient data entry in the management of diabetes. (1999) | |||||||||||||||||
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| Effective management of chronic diseases such as diabetes mellitus has become increasingly difficult for primary care clinicians. With the development of clinical practice guidelines and evidence-based medicine, physicians are expected to utilize a large number of interventions that have been shown to improve patient outcomes. Effective utilization of these interventions requires the collection of a comprehensive diabetes health history. Yet, because physicians are extremely constrained in terms of time, the collected history is often incomplete or poorly organized. To improve management of diabetic patients in the outpatient setting, alternative methods of collecting data from patients have been sought. One approach is for patients to directly enter their own data into a computer prior to an office visit. This method may enhance data capture and allows subsequent storage of data in a database. These data can then be summarized and printed for the physician to review prior to the office visit. Computerized decision support can also be provided. In this prospective study, patients were asked to enter their comprehensive diabetes health history (between 65-117 questions) into a computer using a mouse as the input device to the computer. Sixty adult diabetic outpatients in community-based and VA hospital-based settings, ranging from age 33-81, volunteered to participate in this comparison of two different methods (paper and computer) of data collection. We measured usability, feasibility, reliability, patient satisfaction and preferences. Outcome variables were compared in terms of clinic site, method used first (paper or computer), prior computer usage (users or never-users), and age grouping (older [>=60] or younger [. Doctor of Philosophy; | |||||||||||||||||
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