Use and impact of a computer-generated patient summary worksheet for primary care

Advanced clinical information systems have been proposed to improve patient care in terms of safety, effectiveness, and efficiency. In order to be effective, such systems require detailed patient-specific clinical information in a form easily reviewed by clinicians. We have developed a patient summary worksheet for use in outpatient clinics, which presents a structured overview of patient health information. The worksheet provides patient demographic information, specific problems and conditions, the patient's current medication profile, laboratory test results pertinent to patient problems, and disease-specific or preventive care actionable advisories. Usage has grown from a few hundred to over 25,000 unique patients per month during a two-year period. Diabetic patients for whom the worksheet is accessed are significantly more likely to be in compliance with accepted testing regimens for glycosolated hemoglobin (OR 1.47, 95% CI 1.28, 1.61).