Randomized controlled trial of a computer strategy to increase general practitioner preventive care.

Area of Science:

• General Practice
• Preventive Medicine
• Health Informatics

Background:

• Previous interventions to enhance preventive care delivery by primary care practitioners have shown limited success.
• General practice settings require effective strategies to improve screening and risk behavior identification.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of a computerized continuing medical education (CME) program.
• To increase rates of cholesterol, blood pressure, and cervical cancer screening.
• To improve the identification of patient risk behaviors including smoking, alcohol consumption, and benzodiazepine use.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial involving 19 general practitioners allocated to intervention or control groups.
• The intervention group received a computerized feedback system delivered via a touch-screen computer.
• Outcomes were measured at baseline and 3-month follow-up using logistic regression analyses.

Main Results:

• Statistically significant improvements were observed in accurate classification of benzodiazepine users and non-users.
• Significant increases were noted in identifying hazardous or harmful alcohol drinkers.
• Rates of blood pressure and cholesterol screening showed statistically significant improvements.

Conclusions:

• A computerized system providing performance-specific feedback can enhance the delivery of preventive care services in general practice.
• This technology-based approach shows promise for improving screening rates and risk behavior identification.