title: A multicenter, randomized, open study to evaluate the impact of an electronic data capture system on the care of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the impact of an electronic data capture system on patient satisfaction and patient-physician interactions in a rheumatology clinical setting.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this multicenter study, 1079 patients with rheumatoid arthritis completed questionnaires quarterly about their health and satisfaction with care using a computer. At 6 months, 901 eligible patients were randomized 2:1 to receive or not to receive graphical summarized health information or Health Tracker (HT) reports. Data collected at each visit included patient satisfaction with care; patient-physician interaction assessments; a 56-joint self-assessment for patients; a 28-joint assessment for physicians; patient pain, fatigue, and global assessments (visual analogue scale, physician global assessment, Health Assessment Questionnaire, and Short Form-12) all of which were cumulatively recorded in the HT report.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patient demographics at baseline were similar between groups. Changes from baseline to 1 year showed that patients in the HT-viewers group were significantly more satisfied with their care (p < 0.001) than those in the HT-nonviewers group (p = 0.131). Physicians reported improved interactions with patients at 1 year in both the HT-viewers (p < 0.001) and HT-nonviewers groups (p = 0.002); however, the improvement was significantly larger for the HT-viewers group than for the HT-nonviewers group (p < 0.001). Adverse events were comparable between groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patient access to systematically collected patient data reports promoted self-involvement and improved patient satisfaction and patient-physician interactions more in the HT-viewers than in HT-nonviewers groups at 1 year (p < 0.001). This was an open, observational study; no formal hypothesis testing was conducted. The HT system was not validated and some bias may have existed with respect to patient comfort level with a computer, user error, and timing of data entry of the physicians' assessments.
authors.affiliation: Arthritis Associates, Chattanooga, TN 37343, USA. drhuff@pol.net <drhuff@pol.net>
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huffstutter
authors.forename: W David
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Craig
authors.forename: Gregory
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Schimizzi
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Harshbarger
authors.forename: Jeffrey
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lisse
authors.forename: Shelley
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kasle
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hymson
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yocum
authors.forename: Lesley
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Castro
authors.forename: Ronald
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hegedus
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Callegari
authors.forename: Newman
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yeilding
authors.forename: Keith
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gilmer
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000628:therapy*; D003625:Data Collection / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires