Brief report: The prevalence and use of chronic disease registries in physician organizations. A national survey.
OBJECTIVE
Disease registries are lists of patients with a particular chronic illness, including clinical information, to improve the care of individuals and populations. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of disease registries in physician organizations and the extent to which they are used to improve care.


METHODS
A cross-sectional national telephone survey with a response rate of 70%.


METHODS
All physician organizations in the United States with 20 physicians or more.


METHODS
Chief executive officers, presidents, or medical directors of 1040 physician organizations.


METHODS
None.


RESULTS
Forty-seven percent of organizations reported having a registry for at least 1 chronic illness, with diabetes registries being the most common. Half (51%) of the registries were not linked to clinical data. Organizations with at least 1 registry were more likely to have implemented other chronic care improvements (P < .0001). Factors associated with the presence of registries in physician organizations include external incentives for quality and extent of information technology capabilities.


CONCLUSIONS
Disease registries are not utilized by half of physician organizations. This finding is disturbing because registries have the potential to catalyze needed improvement in chronic care management.
Schmittdiel
Julie
J
Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research, Oakland, CA, USA.
Bodenheimer
Thomas
T
Solomon
Neil A
NA
Gillies
Robin R
RR
Shortell
Stephen M
SM
D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000628:therapy*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D010346:Patient Care Management; D020400:Provider-Sponsored Organizations / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care; D012042:Registries / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States