Computer-based vs manual health maintenance tracking. A controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: To compare computer-based with manual health maintenance tracking systems to determine whether (1) a computer-based system will result in better provider compliance with the practice health maintenance protocol, (2) the incremental cost of operating a computer-based vs a manual health maintenance tracking system differs, and (3) inactive patients will respond to health maintenance reminders. DESIGN: Two-year prospective, randomized, controlled trial. SETTING: Rural, multiple-office, nonprofit, fee-for-service family practice. PATIENTS: Adult members of families in which at least one member had been seen by the practice within the past 2 years. INTERVENTION: A computer-based health maintenance tracking system that generated annual provider and patient reminders for all patients regardless of appointment status compared with a manual flowchart-based tracking system in which patient reminders were triggered by provider request. OUTCOME MEASURES: Provider compliance with the health maintenance protocol determined by preintervention and postintervention chart audits, costs of computer-based tracking, and response of inactive patients to health maintenance reminders. RESULTS: Overall provider compliance with the health maintenance protocol increased 15 percentage points in the computer-based tracking group and four percentage points in the manual group. The computer-based tracking group had significantly higher provider compliance than the manual group for eight of 11 procedures. The computer-based tracking system cost 78 cents per patient per year to operate. It was not associated with increased office visits or patient billings. CONCLUSIONS: Computer-based health maintenance tracking improved provider health maintenance compliance compared with a manual system. The finding that health maintenance compliance improved without a significant increase in patient visits or billings requires confirmation in other settings but suggests that considerable health maintenance can be incorporated into ongoing patient care.

How primary health care providers can integrate cancer prevention into practice.

Integrating prevention into practice is an important primary care challenge. Cancer prevention is a major part of this effort. In the past decade, concepts of selective longitudinal health maintenance have replaced the previous teaching that all adults should have a "complete annual physical." Physician barriers to implementing prevention include: uncertainty about conflicting recommendations; uncertainty about the value of screening tests; disorganized medical records; delayed or indirect gratification from screening; and lack of time. The following practice strategies can help overcome these barriers: adopting a scientifically based minimum core of preventive procedures; clearly identifying responsibility for prevention; engaging the patient in the responsibility for prevention; and committing resources to institutionalize prevention in the practice. The manual health maintenance flow chart is the most common tool for facilitating health maintenance tracking; however, computerized systems are being developed. The advantages and disadvantages of both types of system are addressed. A model computerized health maintenance tracking system is presented.

HTRAK, a computerized health maintenance tracking system for primary care.

This presentation describes a computerized health maintenance tracking system for primary care designed to be linked to the practice billing system. Providers enter health maintenance data along with billing data on an encounter form. Physician and patient reminders are generated once a year for all patients regardless of appointment status. Multiple entry options are available and the frequency of procedures can be varied for individual patients. Summary reports are generated to assist compliance and quality assurance.

Description of a computerized health maintenance tracking system for primary care practice.

This article describes the development of a computerized health maintenance tracking system for primary care practice and its features. Research has shown existing computerized health maintenance tracking systems are unsatisfactory for the average practitioner for these reasons: (1) Data entry is slow or requires duplication of entries for billing purposes; (2) the system is linked to a totally computerized medical record that is expensive and complex to maintain; (3) health maintenance status options are limited to "YES/NO" and do not inform the practitioner of the full range of possible situations; (4) physician reminders are created only for patients with an appointment; (5) patient reminders are not generated on a regular basis regardless of appointment status; (6) it is difficult to change individual and global health maintenance schedules. The system described here downloads demographic and health maintenance data from the practice's billing system. Six health maintenance status options are available: D = done and normal, X = done but abnormal, N = not indicated, R = patient refused, E = done elsewhere, I = abnormal but inactive. A health maintenance status report is created for both the patient and provider once a year, in the month of the patient's birth unless an alternate month has been designated, regardless of the patient's appointment status. Patients are encouraged to make an appointment for overdue health maintenance procedures, unless already scheduled.