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A controlled trial to improve delivery of preventive care: physician or patient reminders?

Authors :
Turner, Barbara
Day, Susan
Borenstein, Bette
Turner, B J
Day, S C
Borenstein, B
Source :
JGIM: Journal of General Internal Medicine; Sep1989, Vol. 4 Issue 5, p403-409, 7p
Publication Year :
1989

Abstract

<bold>Objective: </bold>To improve the delivery of preventive care in a medical clinic, a controlled trial was conducted of two interventions that were expected to influence delivery of preventive services differently, depending on level of initiative required of the physician or patient to complete a service.<bold>Design: </bold>A prospective, controlled trial of five-months' duration.<bold>Setting: </bold>A university hospital-based, general medical clinic.<bold>Participants: </bold>Thirty-nine junior and senior medical residents who saw patients in stable clinic teams throughout the study.<bold>Intervention: </bold>A computerized reminder system for physicians and a patient questionnaire and educational hand-out on preventive care.<bold>Measurements and Main Results: </bold>Delivery of five of six audited preventive services improved significantly after the interventions were introduced. The computerized reminder alone increased completion rates of services that relied primarily on physician initiative; the questionnaire alone increased completion rate of the service that depended more on patient compliance as well as on some physician-dependent services. Both interventions used together were slightly less effective in improving performance of physician-dependent services than the computerized reminder used alone.<bold>Conclusions: </bold>These interventions can improve the delivery of preventive care but they differ in their impacts on physician and patient behaviors. Overall, the computer reminder was the more effective intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
08848734
Volume :
4
Issue :
5
Database :
Complementary Index
Journal :
JGIM: Journal of General Internal Medicine
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
71569103
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02599691