Automated Reporting of Patient Outcomes in Hand Surgery: A Pilot Study.

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Technology
• Patient Outcomes Research
• Clinical Data Management

Background:

• Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) are increasingly vital in patient care.
• Nonacademic medical practices face challenges in implementing PRO collection.
• A novel, near-autonomous system was developed to address these challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the efficacy of an automated system for collecting PROs.
• To evaluate the feasibility of this system in a private, nonacademic practice.
• To determine response rates and patient satisfaction with the automated system.

Main Methods:

• An automated system was designed to collect PROs using email.
• Operative patients in an upper-extremity private practice participated.
• Patients completed the Quick Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (QuickDASH) and satisfaction surveys pre- and postoperatively.

Main Results:

• Response rates for postoperative assessments were 62% at 3 weeks, 55% at 6 weeks, and 43% at 12 weeks.
• 35% of patients completed all questionnaires; 73% completed at least one postoperative assessment.
• Data collection required no additional time from clinical staff or surgeons.

Conclusions:

• Automated email assessments effectively gather reliable clinical data with minimal intervention.
• This system is feasible for nonacademic practices lacking extensive research resources.
• Enhancing patient communication strategies may further improve response rates.