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An acute care physical therapy clinical practice database for outcomes research
R K Shields1, K C Leo, B Miller
1Physical Therapy Graduate Program, College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City 52242.
Physical Therapy
|May 1, 1994
Summary
This study describes a physical therapy database system for acute care, emphasizing high-quality functional measures. Such databases are crucial for research and improving physical therapy interventions to reduce patient disability.
Area of Science:
- Physical Therapy
- Health Informatics
- Clinical Research
Background:
- Clinical practice databases are vital for assessing patient outcomes across medical fields.
- Standardizing clinical assessments is essential for creating effective computerized physical therapy records.
- High-quality data is fundamental for clinical databases to support research missions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe a novel acute care physical therapy database system.
- To highlight the system's focus on high-quality functional outcome measures.
- To detail the underlying logic for developing a computerized physical therapy medical record.
Main Methods:
- Development of a computerized physical therapy database system for acute care settings.
- Emphasis on standardized, high-quality measures of patient function.
- Demonstration of database capabilities through various projects and patient case studies.
Main Results:
- The database system facilitates data quality assessment and clinical hypothesis generation.
- It aids in managing clinical data, developing new clinical measures, and collecting pilot data on patient variability.
- Case studies involving total joint replacement, pain, and decreased ambulation illustrate the database's utility.
Conclusions:
- High-quality clinical practice databases are essential for advancing the research mission in physical therapy.
- This database system provides a robust tool for managing functional data in acute care.
- Integrating such databases with randomized clinical trials can enhance the identification of effective physical therapy interventions for disability reduction.