Automated alerts and reminders targeting patients: A review of the literature

Patient-reported usability challenges when implementing integrated EHR medication reminders for kidney transplant patients in a home setting: A pilot study

BACKGROUND

With an aging population and the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases such as chronic kidney disease (CKD), kidney transplantation is the preferred treatment for end-stage renal disease due to its superior clinical outcomes and cost-effectiveness compared to dialysis. Although EHR-integrated medication reminders have the potential to enhance adherence in transplant patients, their feasibility require further investigation.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this pilot study was to assess the feasibility of an integrated medication reminder tool for kidney transplant patients in terms of experienced usability and satisfaction.

METHODS

A single-arm survey design was used to assess the usability and satisfaction in kidney transplant recipients using an EHR-integrated medication reminder tool through the patient portal at a large academic hospital in the Netherlands. Usability and satisfaction were evaluated using the validated Experienced Usability and Satisfaction with self-monitoring in the home Setting (GEMS) questionnaire comprising four subconstructs: Convenience of use, Perceived value, Efficiency of use, and Satisfaction. Quantitative data were analysed and assessed through descriptive statistics. Furthermore, six additional questions assessed logging into the system, ease of follow-up on reminder, satisfaction with reminder timing, perceived support for adherence, occurrence of incorrect reminders, and willingness to continue using the tool, using Likert scales and open-ended responses.

RESULTS

In total, forty-three patients participated in this study. The results showed mixed experienced usability and satisfaction, with a GEMS score of 65.0%. The Efficiency of use subconstruct revealed issues such as difficulties in checking off medication and accessing the patient portal. The Satisfaction subconstruct revealed limitations of the tool, as reminders cannot be customized, creating inconvenience for patients who had developed their own medication routines after transplantation. One third (35.7%) of the patients reported willingness to continue using the tool after the pilot program.

CONCLUSION

The experienced usability and satisfaction of an integrated EHR medication reminder tool were adequate for half of the patients. To facilitate large-scale implementation, improvements of the tool are needed to maximize its effectiveness for kidney transplant patients, particularly by enhancing customization of the notification system to better meet user needs and support medication adherence.

Primary Care Uptake Interventions in Taxi, App-Based, and Other For-Hire Vehicle Drivers: The HAILL Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND

Taxi, app-based, and other for-hire vehicle drivers have major health risks and poor healthcare access.

OBJECTIVE

Compare workplace interventions to improve driver healthcare access.

DESIGN

Taxi Health Access Intervention for Linkages and Lifestyle (HAILL) was a three-arm cluster randomized controlled trial (2015-2022; analyses 2024) with outcomes assessed at 12 months. Randomization was at the cluster (taxi garage) level.

PARTICIPANTS

We approached 97 taxi garages in New York City (garages with ≥ 100 drivers and app-based driver hubs), 32 were excluded, and 65 enrolled. Drivers attending workplace Health Fairs at the garages were consecutively screened for participation; 735 enrolled.

INTERVENTIONS

All sites received the Health Fair intervention (health history, screenings [blood pressure, etc.], clinician consult, and 3 months of primary care access facilitation follow-up). Arm 1 received the Health Fair only. Arm 2 received the Health Fair and Navigator case management for up to 12 months. Arm 3 received the Health Fair and up to 12 months of appointment reminder text messages and peer support.

MAIN MEASURES

Medical Expenditure Panel Survey items measured primary care uptake (primary outcome). A Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey item measured insurance enrollment (secondary outcome). Two independent-sample t tests compared arm 1 versus 2 and arm 1 versus 3 primary care uptake proportions.

KEY RESULTS

Sixty-one garages participated (arm 1, n = 20; arm 2, n = 22; arm 3, n = 19). In the cluster intention-to-treat analyses, primary care uptake was 44% in arm 1 versus 57% in arm 2 (P = .264) and versus 43% in arm 3 (P = .994); health insurance enrollment was 63% in arm 1 versus 58% in arm 2 (P = .627) and versus 50% in arm 3 (P = .197).

CONCLUSIONS

All interventions increased healthcare access, with a positive trend in primary care uptake between arms 1 and 2. Health Fairs and Navigator case management should be considered by policy makers.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02508363 ( https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT02508363 ).

Text message reminders for visit adherence among non-communicable disease patients in Haiti: A pilot study

Clinic appointment compliance is a challenge to care continuity for people with chronic non-communicable diseases (NCD) globally. Short-message-service (SMS) text reminders have improved attendance in several settings but have not been tested in Haiti. This pilot study of an SMS reminder strategy to improve clinic attendance for NCD patients in Central Haiti assessed the feasibility and acceptability the messages. We included patients in the NCD clinic - adults with hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and heart failure; and children/young adults with type 1 diabetes (T1D) - at Hôpital Universitaire de Mirebalais. Patients with appointments between December 13-22, 2021, were sent SMS reminders 3 days and 1 day before their visit. Patients completed a survey at their appointment evaluating the usefulness, acceptability, and feasibility of the reminders. We assessed barriers to receiving the SMS and how they influence clinic attendance. Ninety-six patients had a scheduled appointment during the study period. SMS reminders were sent to all patients with recorded phone numbers (91.2%). 72 patients (75%) attended their visit. Half of those who attended their visit received the SMS. Of these patients, 100% liked the reminder, 97.2% wanted to receive future messages, and 22.2% reported they would not have attended their visit without the reminder. Of the 36 patients who did not receive the SMS, 38.9% changed their phone number while 33.3% did not have access to a phone. Barriers to receiving the SMS were inconsistent cellular signal (25%) and lack of access to a phone (22%). Sending SMS reminders was feasible and acceptable to NCD patients. The messages were universally liked by the patients and positively influenced the decision of some to attend their visit. Barriers to uptake include updating phone numbers and access to phones. If implemented at scale, SMS reminders may improve appointment attendance in rural Haiti for those with mobile phones.

Artificial intelligence in dentistry: Exploring emerging applications and future prospects

OBJECTIVES

This narrative review aimed to explore the evolution and advancements of artificial intelligence technologies, highlighting their transformative impact on healthcare, education, and specific aspects within dentistry as a field.

DATA AND SOURCES

Subtopics within artificial intelligence technologies in dentistry were identified and divided among four reviewers. Electronic searches were performed with search terms that included: artificial intelligence, technologies, healthcare, education, dentistry, restorative, prosthodontics, periodontics, endodontics, oral surgery, oral pathology, oral medicine, implant dentistry, dental education, dental patient care, dental practice management, and combinations of the keywords.

STUDY

selection: A total of 120 articles were included for review that evaluated the use of artificial intelligence technologies within the healthcare and dental field. No formal evidence-based quality assessment was performed due to the narrative nature of this review. The conducted search was limited to the English language with no other further restrictions.

RESULTS

The significance and applications of artificial intelligence technologies on the areas of dental education, dental patient care, and dental practice management were reviewed, along with the existing limitations and future directions of artificial intelligence in dentistry as whole. Current artificial intelligence technologies have shown promising efforts to bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and clinical practice in dental education, as well as improved diagnostic information gathering and clinical decision-making abilities in patient care throughout various dental specialties. The integration of artificial intelligence into patient administration aspects have enabled practices to develop more efficient management workflows.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite the limitations that exist, the integration of artificial intelligence into the dental profession comes with numerous benefits that will continue to evolve each day. While the challenges and ethical considerations, mainly concerns about data privacy, are areas that need to be further addressed, the future of artificial intelligence in dentistry looks promising, with ongoing research aimed at overcoming current limitations and expanding artificial intelligence technologies.

Nudging Health Behavior Change Among Home-Based Cardiac Rehabilitation Patients: A Scoping Review

Background

In home-based cardiac rehabilitation practices, nudging has emerged and was actively explored to promote health behavior change among patients with heart disease. The literature on nudging strategy is fragmented and lacks comprehensive reviews.

Objective

This study aimed to identify nudging interventions to promote health behavior change among patients undergoing home-based cardiac rehabilitation, focusing on the scope, characteristics and delivery.

Methods

A scoping review was conducted from July to September 2023, during which databases including PubMed, Web of Science, and OVID (Embase, Cochrane Library, JBI) were searched. Search terms were constructed based on population-concept-context mnemonics approach. Reviewers screened articles independently and reviewed the included articles to extract key information about each nudge intervention.

Results

In included 25 studies, the majority (n=21) with the nudging strategy had positive results. 14 nudge strategies were identified and coded with the primary objective of changing health behaviors. The most common nudging strategy was goal setting, followed by feedback, and reminders and alerts. To capture the heterogeneity of nudging strategies, two independent dimensions were introduced to further classify them into four quadrants (active vs passive and synchronous vs passive). For example, some nudging strategies usually occur when the target behavior must be performed (synchronization) and requires the immediate participation of the home-based cardiac rehabilitation patients (active). In addition, digital nudging technology with gamification elements may become the mainstream in future research.

Conclusion

These studies reflected different objectives and implement nudging strategies in different ways. Despite the multiple nudging strategies are widely adopted, identifying the contributing components remains challenging.

Program Cost and Return on Investment of a Remote Patient Monitoring Program for Hypertension Management

Objective

To evaluate the program costs and financial sustainability of a remote patient monitoring for hypertension (RPM-HTN) program implemented in the cardiology practice of a large healthcare system.

Study Design

This economic evaluation utilized field observation, interviews, literature review, and quantitative analysis to assess RPM-HTN from March to June 2024 at New York University Langone Health.

Methods

A costing tool was developed to quantify program costs, including personnel, start-up, equipment, and supply expenses, expressed in 2024 USD. Reimbursement rates were estimated using the 2024 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. The return on investment (ROI) was calculated as the ratio of net return to program costs. Univariate sensitivity analyses evaluated the impact of varying a single parameter at a time on ROI.

Results

The average cost of RPM-HTN was $330 per patient (range: $208-$452), with an annual program cost of $33,000 (range: $20,785-$45,168) for 100 patients enrolled from the Cardiology Division. Key expenses included data review by nurse practitioners ($172/patient), blood pressure device costs ($48/patient), and nurse-patient communication ($36/patient). ROI averaged 22.2% at 55% patient compliance with the RPM-HTN program. This ROI ranged from -11.1% (assuming program costs of $452) to 93.3% (assuming program costs of $208) per patient. ROI was most sensitive to changes in data review costs, insurance reimbursement, patient compliance, and device setup.

Conclusions

The RPM-HTN program demonstrated positive ROI, indicating financial sustainability in a large urban healthcare system. Improving patient compliance with the program and reducing human resource costs are critical for scaling RPM-HTN programs effectively.

Loss to Follow-Up in Patients With Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy or Diabetic Macular Edema

Importance

Effective management of proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) and diabetic macular edema (DME) requires reliable patient follow-up to prevent disease progression.

Objective

To investigate the sociodemographic and clinical factors associated with being lost to follow-up (LTFU) among individuals with PDR or DME treated with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) intravitreal injections (IVIs) or panretinal photocoagulation (PRP).

Design, Setting, and Participants

This cohort study included a multicenter, retrospective review of patients with PDR or DME treated in Toronto, Canada, from January 1, 2012, to December 31, 2021. Data were analyzed from February 1 to May 31, 2024.

Exposures

All patients received at least 1 anti-VEGF IVI or PRP session.

Main Outcomes and Measures

The primary outcome was the LTFU rate, defined as the absence of an ophthalmic visit or intervention in the 1-year period following an individual's last visit with the treating retinal specialist. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression models were conducted to evaluate associations between sociodemographic and clinical factors with the LTFU rate.

Results

Overall, 2961 patients with PDR or DME (mean [SD] age, 71 [13] years; 1640 [55.4%] male) were included, of whom 507 (17.1%) were LTFU over a mean (SD) follow-up period of 61 (22) months. In the multivariable analysis, older patients (age ≥85 years vs age <65 years: odds ratio [OR], 0.58; 95% CI, 0.40-0.81; P = .002), those with worse baseline visual acuity (>20/200 Snellen vs 20/40 Snellen or better: OR, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.48-0.97; P = .04), those with DME (OR vs no DME, 0.60; 95% CI, 0.43-0.83; P = .003), those with frequent clinic visits (≥6 visits vs <6 visits: OR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.62-0.98; P = .04), and those with a high anti-VEGF IVI burden in the first year (OR vs low anti-VEGF burden, 0.40; 95% CI, 0.21-0.76; P = .006) were less likely to be LTFU. In contrast, males (OR vs females, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.04-1.52; P = .04), patients living further from the point of care (>200 vs ≤20 km OR, 2.65; 95% CI, 1.85-3.76; P < .001), and those treated with PRP (OR vs anti-VEGF IVIs, 2.10; 95% CI, 1.24-3.55; P < .001) were more likely to be LTFU. Compared with White patients, Black patients (OR, 2.10; 95% CI, 1.50-2.95; P < .001) and Hispanic patients (OR, 1.54; 95% CI, 1.05-2.21; P = .03) were more likely to be LTFU.

Conclusions and Relevance

This cohort study found multiple factors associated with LTFU rates. Identifying individuals at higher risk of LTFU and developing targeted strategies may reduce disease progression and vision loss in individuals with PDR.

Patient-centered radiology: a roadmap for outpatient imaging

Creating a patient-centered experience is becoming increasingly important for radiology departments around the world. The goal of patient-centered radiology is to ensure that radiology services are sensitive to patients' needs and desires. This article provides a framework for addressing the patient's experience by dividing their imaging journey into three distinct time periods: pre-exam, day of exam, and post-exam. Each time period has aspects that can contribute to patient anxiety. Although there are components of the patient journey that are common in all regions of the world, there are also unique features that vary by location. This paper highlights innovative solutions from different parts of the world that have been introduced in each of these time periods to create a more patient-centered experience. CLINICAL RELEVANCE STATEMENT: Adopting innovative solutions that help patients understand their imaging journey and decrease their anxiety about undergoing an imaging examination are important steps in creating a patient centered imaging experience. KEY POINTS: • Patients often experience anxiety during their imaging journey and decreasing this anxiety is an important component of patient centered imaging. • The patient imaging journey can be divided into three distinct time periods: pre-exam, day of exam, and post-exam. • Although components of the imaging journey are common, there are local differences in different regions of the world that need to be considered when constructing a patient centered experience.

Understanding the Landscape: The Emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI), ChatGPT, and Google Bard in Gastroenterology

Introduction Artificial intelligence (AI) integration in healthcare, specifically in gastroenterology, has opened new avenues for enhanced patient care and medical decision-making. This study aims to assess the reliability and accuracy of two prominent AI tools, ChatGPT 4.0 and Google Bard, in answering gastroenterology-related queries, thereby evaluating their potential utility in medical settings. Methods The study employed a structured approach where typical gastroenterology questions were input into ChatGPT 4.0 and Google Bard. Independent reviewers evaluated responses using a Likert scale and cross-referenced them with guidelines from authoritative gastroenterology bodies. Statistical analysis, including the Mann-Whitney U test, was conducted to assess the significance of differences in ratings. Results ChatGPT 4.0 demonstrated higher reliability and accuracy in its responses than Google Bard, as indicated by higher mean ratings and statistically significant p-values in hypothesis testing. However, limitations in the data structure, such as the inability to conduct detailed correlation analysis, were noted. Conclusion The study concludes that ChatGPT 4.0 outperforms Google Bard in providing reliable and accurate responses to gastroenterology-related queries. This finding underscores the potential of AI tools like ChatGPT in enhancing healthcare delivery. However, the study also highlights the need for a broader and more diverse assessment of AI capabilities in healthcare to leverage their potential in clinical practice fully.

A New Era of Dental Care: Harnessing Artificial Intelligence for Better Diagnosis and Treatment

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into dental care holds the promise of revolutionizing the field by enhancing the accuracy of dental diagnosis and treatment. This paper explores the impact of AI in dental care, with a focus on its applications in diagnosis, treatment planning, and patient engagement. AI-driven dental imaging and radiography, computer-aided detection and diagnosis of dental conditions, and early disease detection and prevention are discussed in detail. Moreover, the paper delves into how AI assists in personalized treatment planning and provides predictive analytics for dental care. Ethical and privacy considerations, including data security, fairness, and regulatory aspects, are addressed, highlighting the need for a responsible and transparent approach to AI implementation. Finally, the paper underscores the potential for a collaborative partnership between AI and dental professionals to offer the best possible care to patients, making dental care more efficient, patient-centric, and effective. The advent of AI in dentistry presents a remarkable opportunity to improve oral health outcomes, benefiting both patients and the healthcare community.

Alerts and Collections for Automating Patients' Sensemaking and Organizing of Their Electronic Health Record Data for Reflection, Planning, and Clinical Visits: Qualitative Research-Through-Design Study

BACKGROUND

Electronic health record (EHR) data from multiple providers often exhibit important but convoluted and complex patterns that patients find hard and time-consuming to identify and interpret. However, existing patient-facing applications lack the capability to incorporate automatic pattern detection robustly and toward supporting making sense of the patient's EHR data. In addition, there is no means to organize EHR data in an efficient way that suits the patient's needs and makes them more actionable in real-life settings. These shortcomings often result in a skewed and incomplete picture of the patient's health status, which may lead to suboptimal decision-making and actions that put the patient at risk.

OBJECTIVE

Our main goal was to investigate patients' attitudes, needs, and use scenarios with respect to automatic support for surfacing important patterns in their EHR data and providing means for organizing them that best suit patients' needs.

METHODS

We conducted an inquisitive research-through-design study with 14 participants. Presented in the context of a cutting-edge application with strong emphasis on independent EHR data sensemaking, called Discovery, we used high-level mock-ups for the new features that were supposed to support automatic identification of important data patterns and offer recommendations-Alerts-and means for organizing the medical records based on patients' needs, much like photos in albums-Collections. The combined audio recording transcripts and in-study notes were analyzed using the reflexive thematic analysis approach.

RESULTS

The Alerts and Collections can be used for raising awareness, reflection, planning, and especially evidence-based patient-provider communication. Moreover, patients desired carefully designed automatic pattern detection with safe and actionable recommendations, which produced a well-tailored and scoped landscape of alerts for both potential threats and positive progress. Furthermore, patients wanted to contribute their own data (eg, progress notes) and log feelings, daily observations, and measurements to enrich the meaning and enable easier sensemaking of the alerts and collections. On the basis of the findings, we renamed Alerts to Reports for a more neutral tone and offered design implications for contextualizing the reports more deeply for increased actionability; automatically generating the collections for more expedited and exhaustive organization of the EHR data; enabling patient-generated data input in various formats to support coarser organization, richer pattern detection, and learning from experience; and using the reports and collections for efficient, reliable, and common-ground patient-provider communication.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients need to have a flexible and rich way to organize and annotate their EHR data; be introduced to insights from these data-both positive and negative; and share these artifacts with their physicians in clinical visits or via messaging for establishing shared mental models for clear goals, agreed-upon priorities, and feasible actions.

Acceptability and feasibility of a mobile health application for enhancing public private mix for TB care among healthcare Workers in Southwestern Uganda

Background

Mobile health interventions can potentially enhance public-private linkage for tuberculosis care. However, evidence about their acceptability and feasibility is lacking. This study sought to assess the initial acceptability and feasibility of a mobile health application for following up on presumptive tuberculosis patients referred from private to public hospitals. Twenty-two healthcare workers from three private hospitals and a public hospital in southwestern Uganda received the Tuuka mobile application for 1 month for testing. Testing focused on referring patients by healthcare workers from private hospitals and receiving referred patients by public healthcare workers and sending SMS reminders to the referred patients by filling out the digital referral forms inbuilt within the app. Study participants participated in qualitative semi-structured in-depth interviews on the acceptability and feasibility of this app. An inductive, content analytic approach, framed by the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology model, was used to analyze qualitative data. Quantitative feasibility metrics and the quantitative assessment of acceptability were analyzed descriptively using STATA.

Results

Healthcare workers found the Tuuka application acceptable and feasible, with a mean total system usability scale score of 98 (SD 1.97). The majority believed that the app would help them make quicker medical decisions (91%), communicate with other healthcare workers (96%), facilitate partnerships with other hospitals (100%), and enhance quick TB case notification (96%). The application was perceived to be useful in reminding referred patients to adhere to referral appointments, notifying public hospital healthcare workers about the incoming referred patients, facilitating communication across facilities, and enhancing patient-based care.

Conclusion

The Tuuka mobile health application is acceptable and feasible for following up on referred presumptive tuberculosis patients referred from private to public hospitals in southwestern Uganda. Future efforts should focus on incorporating incentives to motivate and enable sustained use among healthcare workers.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s44247-023-00009-0.

Using Technology to Enhance Communication

Digital communication, facilitated by the rise of the electronic health record and telehealth, has transformed clinical workflow. The communication tools, and the purposes they are being used for, need to account for the benefits, risks, and fault tolerance for each tool. In this article, the authors offer several suggestions on how to approach these important issues. These new digital communication tools open the door to novel care models for connecting patients and providers. Most importantly, the way a message is delivered, not the medium through which it is transmitted, is the key to successful communication.

Does technology-enhanced communication improve Helicobacter pylori eradication outcomes?-A meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a highly prevalent organism that can induce an inflammatory state in the upper gastrointestinal tract and lead to complications such as peptic ulcer and gastric cancer. The treatment regime is complicated, and mild-to-moderate adverse effects are common, making patient compliance a key determinant of successful eradication. One attractive strategy is to leverage on technology-enhanced communication (TEC) strategies. However, the current data on the efficacy of TEC modalities in improving H. pylori eradication are limited. This is the first meta-analysis evaluating its effectiveness to the best of our knowledge. Thus, it is essential to evaluate the current body of evidence to learn the impact of TEC initiatives.

METHODS

A literature search was done on PubMed, World of Science, and Embase. A total of 9 studies variably reported on compliance rate, eradication rate, adverse effect rate, symptom relief, patient satisfaction, treatment cost, patient disease awareness, and follow-up rates.

RESULTS

This meta-analysis showed that TEC initiatives significantly improve patient compliance (OR 4.52, 95% CI 2.09 - 9.77, p < .01) and eradication rate (OR 1.98, 95% CI 1.34 - 2.93, p < .01) but not adverse effect rate (OR 0.65, 95% CI [0.27 - 1.57], p = .34). Due to the small number of studies and population sample, patient satisfaction, symptom relief, treatment costs, disease awareness, and follow-up rates were assessed qualitatively.

CONCLUSION

TEC initiatives effectively improve compliance to the H. pylori eradication regime and increase the eradication rate.

Stop the denosumab delay! The effect of implementing an automatic reminder in the electronic medical record

Delays in denosumab dosing for osteoporosis treatment may lead to rapid bone loss or increased fractures. We assessed the frequency of delayed denosumab dosing before and after the implementation of a structured ordering plan with automated reminders and found that the rate of delayed denosumab dosing was cut in half.

PURPOSE

The purpose of our study was to assess the frequency of delayed denosumab dosing before and after the implementation of a structured ordering plan with automated reminders.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective chart review of 720 adults with osteoporosis who received at least two denosumab doses within the UCHealth system before and after the plan went into effect.

RESULTS

There was a significant reduction in delayed dosing from 24.0% (PRE) to 12.6% (POST) (p < 0.001) after implementation of the automated reminder. The fraction of delayed denosumab doses due to scheduling issues decreased significantly between PRE and POST time periods (16.4% vs. 3.3%, p = 0.011), while patient-related issues increased from 31.2% to 46.7% (p = 0.041). The rate of provider, medical, and other/unknown issues did not differ between the two time periods. When normalized to patient-years of follow-up, the number of fractures was the same for both groups at 0.016 fractures per patient-year. Fractures in both the PRE and POST groups were related to dosing delays, but the study was not powered to detect the differences in fracture rates between the groups.

CONCLUSION

Electronic records with automatic reminders can reduce delayed dosing of denosumab and may lead to reductions in fractures associated with delays.

Addressing barriers to evidence-based medicine in pediatric surgery: an introduction to the Canadian Association of Paediatric Surgeons Evidence-Based Resource

Background

Pediatric surgical practice lags behind medicine in presence and use of evidence, primarily due to time constraints of using existing tools that are not specific to pediatric surgery, lack of sufficient patient data and unstructured pediatric surgery training methods.

Method

We developed, disseminated and tested the effectiveness of an evidence-based resource for pediatric surgeons and researchers that provides brief, informative summaries of quality-assessed systematic reviews and meta-analyses on conflicting pediatric surgery topics.

Results

Responses of 91 actively practicing surgeons who used the resource were analysed. The majority of participants found the resource useful (75%), improved their patient care (66.6%), and more than half (54.2%) found it useful in identifying research gaps. Almost all participants reported that the resource could be used as a teaching tool (93%).

Conclusion

Lack of awareness of the resource is the primary barrier to its routine use, leading to potential calls for more active dissemination worldwide. Users of the Canadian Association of Paediatric Surgeons Evidence-Based Resource find that the summaries are useful, identify research gaps, help mitigate multiple barriers to evidence-based medicine, and may improve patient care.

Surgery remember@: an innovation to reduce surgical cancellations

The use of mobile phones has dramatically increased all over the world. Such revolution in the communication amongst individuals has a great impact in patient care, supporting their self-management and promoting shared responsibility with health services. Given that improved communication facilitates compliance with scheduled procedures and reduces surgical cancellations, the current work aims to develop a communication tool named Surgery Remember@ to mitigate surgical suspensions due to patient absenteeism. The present article is a study of technological production divided into four chapters: literature review; analysis of the hospital administrative profile; software development; and process mapping for software implementation. Taking into account that in the last three years the problem of absenteeism was the main cause of institutional surgical cancellations; the development of Surgery Remember@ endeavours to reduce surgery cancellations, improving efficiency and reducing costs. It is known that sending messages three days before the surgical procedure makes it possible to replace patients in the event of cancellations, optimizing the human and material resources in the operating room. The confirmation of the pre-aesthetic consultation is also positive, for it allows the verification of perioperative assistance improvement. Hence, besides being viable and easy to implement, the software developed allows the addition of other features based on user requirements, proving to be an asset to reduce surgery cancellations.

A Digital Case-Finding Algorithm for Diagnosed but Untreated Hepatitis C: A Tool for Increasing Linkage to Treatment and Cure

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Although chronic HCV infection increases mortality, thousands of patients remain diagnosed-but-untreated (DBU). We aimed to (1) develop a DBU phenotyping algorithm, (2) use it to facilitate case finding and linkage to care, and (3) identify barriers to successful treatment.

APPROACH AND RESULTS

We developed a phenotyping algorithm using Java and SQL and applied it to ~2.5 million EPIC electronic medical records (EMRs; data entered January 2003 to December 2017). Approximately 72,000 EMRs contained an HCV International Classification of Diseases code and/or diagnostic test. The algorithm classified 10,614 cases as DBU (HCV-RNA positive and alive). Its positive and negative predictive values were 88% and 97%, respectively, as determined by manual review of 500 EMRs randomly selected from the ~72,000. Navigators reviewed the charts of 6,187 algorithm-defined DBUs and they attempted to contact potential treatment candidates by phone. By June 2020, 30% (n = 1,862) had completed an HCV-related appointment. Outcomes analysis revealed that DBU patients enrolled in our care coordination program were more likely to complete treatment (72% [n = 219] vs. 54% [n = 256]; P < 0.001) and to have a verified sustained virological response (67% vs. 46%; P < 0.001) than other patients. Forty-eight percent (n = 2,992) of DBU patients could not be reached by phone, which was a major barrier to engagement. Nearly half of these patients had Fibrosis-4 scores ≥ 2.67, indicating significant fibrosis. Multivariable logistic regression showed that DBUs who could not be contacted were less likely to have private insurance than those who could (18% vs. 50%; P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

The digital DBU case-finding algorithm efficiently identified potential HCV treatment candidates, freeing resources for navigation and coordination. The algorithm is portable and accelerated HCV elimination when incorporated in our comprehensive program.

Developing Adult Vaccination Ecosystem in India: Current Perspective and the Way Forward

Introduction

A high burden of vaccine-preventable diseases, increasing elderly population, immunosenescence, and emerging drug resistance emphasize the need for robust adult immunization in India. While immunization guidelines from various societies exist, there is inadequate implementation of the same.

Aim

We undertook this narrative review of the adult vaccination ecosystem in India to (i) gain insights into existing adult vaccination practices, (ii) identify barriers to adult vaccination and possible solutions, and (iii) improve collaboration between various stakeholders to help establish adult vaccination centers in the country.

Results

Besides the high cost and lack of insurance coverage, the lack of adult vaccination centers contributes to the low coverage of adult immunization.

Discussion

These challenges can be addressed through multiple approaches including community awareness and immunization programs, setting up mobile vaccination vans, patient/consumer education, and adequate training of healthcare providers. Successful implementation of these strategies requires active collaboration between the government, hospitals, different stakeholders, and policymakers.

Childhood immunization appointment reminders and recalls: strengths, weaknesses and opportunities to increase vaccine coverage

OBJECTIVES

Childhood immunization coverage has been shown to be greatly impacted by parental forgetfulness regarding immunizations and appointments. Evidence supports the use of reminders and recalls to overcome this barrier, which remind parents about upcoming immunization appointments and inform them once their child is overdue for an immunization. In this study, we sought to identify reminder/recall strategies used throughout a large Canadian province and determine the perceived strengths, weaknesses and areas of improvement of existing strategies.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

An environmental scan was performed in 2018 in two phases: (1) interviews with public health leaders from the five zones of Alberta and (2) an online survey of public health centres across the province. Data analysis occurred in 2018 and 2019.

RESULTS

Commonly reported strengths of reminders and recalls included their ability to increase appointment attendance and remind parents about immunizations, respectively. A major identified weakness was their time-consuming/resource-intensive nature. Many participants believed reminder/recalls could be improved by modernizing delivery methods. Educational information or strategies to overcome language barriers were rarely incorporated into reminder/recall systems.

CONCLUSIONS

There was support for incorporating text messaging and automation into reminder/recall systems while encouraging continued exploration of novel reminder/recall delivery methods. Tailoring reminder/recalls to the needs and preferences of target populations can maximize the effectiveness of these systems. This includes modernizing methods of delivery, addressing language barriers, providing educational information, and allotting some degree of flexibility to local level management of reminder/recalls.

Barriers to using clinical decision support in ambulatory care: Do clinics in health systems fare better?

OBJECTIVE

We quantify the use of clinical decision support (CDS) and the specific barriers reported by ambulatory clinics and examine whether CDS utilization and barriers differed based on clinics' affiliation with health systems, providing a benchmark for future empirical research and policies related to this topic.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Despite much discussion at the theoretic level, the existing literature provides little empirical understanding of barriers to using CDS in ambulatory care. We analyze data from 821 clinics in 117 medical groups, based on in Minnesota Community Measurement's annual Health Information Technology Survey (2014-2016). We examine clinics' use of 7 CDS tools, along with 7 barriers in 3 areas (resource, user acceptance, and technology). Employing linear probability models, we examine factors associated with CDS barriers.

RESULTS

Clinics in health systems used more CDS tools than did clinics not in systems (24 percentage points higher in automated reminders), but they also reported more barriers related to resources and user acceptance (26 percentage points higher in barriers to implementation and 33 points higher in disruptive alarms). Barriers related to workflow redesign increased in clinics affiliated with health systems (33 points higher). Rural clinics were more likely to report barriers to training.

CONCLUSIONS

CDS barriers related to resources and user acceptance remained substantial. Health systems, while being effective in promoting CDS tools, may need to provide further assistance to their affiliated ambulatory clinics to overcome barriers, especially the requirement to redesign workflow. Rural clinics may need more resources for training.

A Randomized Trial of Manual Phone Calls Versus Automated Text Messages for Peripheral Nerve Block Follow-Ups

Mobile phone applications (apps) have been used for patient follow-up in the postoperative period, specifically to assess for complications and patient satisfaction. Few studies have evaluated their use in regional anesthesia. The objective of this study was to compare follow-up response rates using manual phone calls versus an automated patient outreach (APO) app for peripheral nerve block patients. We hypothesized that the response rate would be higher in the APO group. A mobile app, "JeffAnesthesia," was developed, which sends notifications to patients to answer survey questions in the app. We randomly assigned patients who received peripheral nerve blocks for postoperative pain to either a manual phone call or an APO app group, with follow-up in each category occurring between postoperative days (POD) 14-21 and 90-100. In total, 60 patients were assigned to the phone call group and 60 patients to the APO app group. Between POD 14-21, 9 (15%) patients were reached in the manual phone call arm, and 16 (26.7%) patients were reached in the APO arm (p = 0.117). At POD 90-100, follow-up was successful with 5 (8.2%) in the manual phone call group vs. 3 (5.0%) patients in the APO app group (p = 0.300). Overall response rate was poor, with comparable response rates between groups. The APO method may reduce time spent by anesthesia staff on follow-up calls, but our data do not suggest this method improves response rates significantly. Further studies are needed to better understand the reasons for the poor response rate and strategies for improvement.

Roles for Pharmacists in the "Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for America" Initiative

In 2019, President Trump announced a new initiative, Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for America (EHE). EHE will use 3 key strategies-diagnose, treat, and prevent-to reduce new HIV infections at least 90% by 2030, as well as new laboratory methods and epidemiological techniques to respond quickly to potential outbreaks. Partnerships are an important component in the initiative's success. Pharmacists and pharmacies can play important roles in EHE, including dispensing antiretroviral therapy and providing HIV screening, adherence counseling, medication therapy management, preexposure prophylaxis, and nonprescription syringe sales. The objective of this report is to discuss potential roles that pharmacists and pharmacies can play under the key strategies of EHE.

Health benefits and economic advantages associated with increased utilization of a smoking cessation program

Rationale, aim & objective: The goal of this study was to examine the health and economic impacts related to increased utilization of the Duke Smoking Cessation Program resulting from the addition of two relatively new referral methods - Best Practice Advisory and Population Outreach. Materials & methods: In a companion paper 'Comparison of Referral Methods into a Smoking Cessation Program', we report results from a retrospective, observational, comparative effectiveness study comparing the impact of three referral methods - Traditional Referral, Best Practice Advisory and Population Outreach on utilization of the Duke Smoking Cessation Program. In this paper we take the next step in this comparative assessment by developing a Markov model to estimate the improvement in health and economic outcomes when two referral methods - Best Practice Advisory and Population Outreach - are added to Traditional Referral. Data used in this analysis were collected from Duke Primary Care and Disadvantaged Care clinics over a 1-year period (1 October 2017-30 September 2018). Results: The addition of two new referral methods - Best Practice Advisory and Population Outreach - to Traditional Referral increased the utilization of the Duke Smoking Cessation Program in Primary Care clinics from 129 to 329 smokers and in Disadvantaged Care clinics from 206 to 401 smokers. The addition of these referral methods was estimated to result in 967 life-years gained, 408 discounted quality-adjusted life-years saved and total discounted lifetime direct healthcare cost savings of US$46,376,285. Conclusion: Health systems may achieve increased patient health and decreased healthcare costs by adding Best Practice Advisory and Population Outreach strategies to refer patients to smoking cessation services.

Electronic Health Record-Based Strategy to Promote Medication Adherence Among Patients With Diabetes: Longitudinal Observational Study

BACKGROUND

Poor medication adherence is common; however, few mechanisms exist in clinical practice to monitor how patients take medications in outpatient settings.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to pilot test the Electronic Medication Complete Communication (EMC2) strategy, a low-cost, sustainable approach that uses functionalities within the electronic health record to promote outpatient medication adherence and safety.

METHODS

The EMC2 strategy was implemented in 2 academic practices for 14 higher-risk diabetes medications. The strategy included: (1) clinical decision support alerts to prompt provider counseling on medication risks, (2) low-literacy medication summaries for patients, (3) a portal-based questionnaire to monitor outpatient medication use, and (4) clinical outreach for identified concerns. We recruited adult patients with diabetes who were prescribed a higher-risk diabetes medication. Participants completed baseline and 2-week interviews to assess receipt of, and satisfaction with, intervention components.

RESULTS

A total of 100 patients were enrolled; 90 completed the 2-week interview. Patients were racially diverse, 30.0% (30/100) had a high school education or less, and 40.0% (40/100) had limited literacy skills. About a quarter (28/100) did not have a portal account; socioeconomic disparities were noted in account ownership by income and education. Among patients with a portal account, 58% (42/72) completed the questionnaire; 21 of the 42 patients reported concerns warranting clinical follow-up. Of these, 17 were contacted by the clinic or had their issue resolved within 24 hours. Most patients (33/38, 89%) who completed the portal questionnaire and follow-up interview reported high levels of satisfaction (score of 8 or greater on a scale of 1-10).

CONCLUSIONS

Findings suggest that the EMC2 strategy can be reliably implemented and delivered to patients, with high levels of satisfaction. Disparities in portal use may restrict intervention reach. Although the EMC2 strategy can be implemented with minimal impact on clinic workflow, future trials are needed to evaluate its effectiveness to promote adherence and safety.

Digital health for COPD care: the current state of play

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) imposes a huge burden to our healthcare systems and societies. To alleviate the burden, digital health-"the use of digital technologies for health"-has been recognized as a potential solution for improving COPD care at scale. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of digital health interventions in COPD care. We accordingly reviewed recent and emerging evidence on digital transformation approaches for COPD care focusing on (I) self-management, (II) in-hospital care, (III) post-discharge care, (IV) hospital-at-home, (V) ambient environment, and (VI) public health surveillance. The emerging approaches included digital-technology-enabled homecare programs, electronic records, big data analytics, and environment-monitoring applications. The digital health approaches of telemonitoring, telehealth and mHealth support the self-management, post-discharge care, and hospital-at-home strategy, with prospective effects on reducing acute COPD exacerbations and hospitalizations. Electronic records and classification tools have been implemented; and their effectiveness needs to be further evaluated in future studies. Air pollution concentrations in the ambient environment are associated with declined lung functions and increased risks for hospitalization and mortality. In all the digital transformation approaches, clinical evidence on reducing mortality, the ultimate goal of digital health intervention, is often inconsistent or insufficient. Digital health transformation provides great opportunities for clinical innovations and discovery of new intervention strategies. Further research remains needed for achieving reliable improvements in clinical outcomes and cost-benefits in future studies.

Interactive NLP in Clinical Care: Identifying Incidental Findings in Radiology Reports

BACKGROUND

Despite advances in natural language processing (NLP), extracting information from clinical text is expensive. Interactive tools that are capable of easing the construction, review, and revision of NLP models can reduce this cost and improve the utility of clinical reports for clinical and secondary use.

OBJECTIVES

We present the design and implementation of an interactive NLP tool for identifying incidental findings in radiology reports, along with a user study evaluating the performance and usability of the tool.

METHODS

Expert reviewers provided gold standard annotations for 130 patient encounters (694 reports) at sentence, section, and report levels. We performed a user study with 15 physicians to evaluate the accuracy and usability of our tool. Participants reviewed encounters split into intervention (with predictions) and control conditions (no predictions). We measured changes in model performance, the time spent, and the number of user actions needed. The System Usability Scale (SUS) and an open-ended questionnaire were used to assess usability.

RESULTS

Starting from bootstrapped models trained on 6 patient encounters, we observed an average increase in F1 score from 0.31 to 0.75 for reports, from 0.32 to 0.68 for sections, and from 0.22 to 0.60 for sentences on a held-out test data set, over an hour-long study session. We found that tool helped significantly reduce the time spent in reviewing encounters (134.30 vs. 148.44 seconds in intervention and control, respectively), while maintaining overall quality of labels as measured against the gold standard. The tool was well received by the study participants with a very good overall SUS score of 78.67.

CONCLUSION

The user study demonstrated successful use of the tool by physicians for identifying incidental findings. These results support the viability of adopting interactive NLP tools in clinical care settings for a wider range of clinical applications.

User evaluation of a novel SMS-based reminder system for supporting post-stroke rehabilitation

Background

According to WHO stroke is a growing societal challenge and the third leading cause of global disease-burden estimated using disability-adjusted life years. Rehabilitation after stroke is an area of mutual interest for health care in many countries. Within the health care sector there is a growing emphasis on ICT services to provide clients with easier access to information, self-evaluation, and self-management. ICT-supported care programs possible to use in clients’ home environments are also recommended when there are long distances to the health care specialists.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the technical usability of a SMS-based reminder system as well as user opinions when using such a system to assist clients to remember to perform daily rehabilitation activities, to rate their performance and to allow Occupational therapists (OT’s) to track and follow-up clients’ results over time.

Methods

Fifteen persons with stroke were invited to participate in the study and volunteered to receive daily SMS-based reminders regarding three activities to perform on a daily basis as well as answer daily SMS-based questions about their success rate during eight weeks. Clients, a number of family members, as well as OTs were interviewed to evaluate their opinions of using the reminder system.

Results

All clients were positive to the reminder system and felt that it helped them to regain their abilities. Their OTs agreed that the reminder and follow-up system was of benefit in the rehabilitation process. However, some technical and other issues were limiting the use of the system for some clients. The issues were mostly linked to the fact that the SMS system was based on a Swedish phone number, so that all messages needed to be sent internationally.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it seems that this type of SMS-based reminder systems could be of good use in the rehabilitation process after stroke, even in low income counties where few clients have access to Internet or smart phones, and where access to healthcare services is limited. However, since the results are based on clients’, OTs’ and family members’ expressed beliefs, we suggest that future research objectively investigate the intervention’s beneficial effects on the clients’ physical and cognitive health.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12911-019-0847-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Defining High Value Elements for Reducing Cost and Utilization in Patient-Centered Medical Homes for the TOPMED Trial

Introduction:

Like most patient-centered medical home (PCMH) models, Oregon’s program, the Patient-Centered Primary Care Home (PCPCH), aims to improve care while reducing costs; however, previous work shows that PCMH models do not uniformly achieve desired outcomes. Our objective was to describe a process for refining PCMH models to identify high value elements (HVEs) that reduce cost and utilization.

Methods:

We performed a targeted literature review of each PCPCH core attribute. Value-related concepts and their metrics were abstracted, and studies were assessed for relevance and strength of evidence. Focus groups were held with stakeholders and patients, and themes related to each attribute were identified; calculation of HVE attainment versus PCPCH criteria were completed on eight primary care clinics. Analyses consisted of descriptive statistics and criterion validity with stakeholder input.

Results:

2,126 abstracts were reviewed; 22 met inclusion criteria. From these articles and focus groups of stakeholders/experts (n = 49; 4 groups) and patients (n = 7; 1 group), 12 HVEs were identified that may reduce cost and utilization. At baseline, clinics achieved, on average, 31.3 percent HVE levels compared to an average of 87.9 percent of the 35 PCMH measures.

Discussion:

A subset of measures from the PCPCH model were identified as “high value” in reducing cost and utilization. HVE performance was significantly lower than standard measures, and may better calibrate clinic ability to reduce costs.

Conclusion:

Through literature review and stakeholder engagement, we created a novel set of high value elements for advanced primary care likely to be more related to cost and utilization than other models.

Specialty care access for Medicaid enrollees in expansion states

OBJECTIVES

Community health centers (CHCs) historically have reported challenges obtaining specialty care for their patients, but recent policy changes, including Medicaid eligibility expansions under the Affordable Care Act, may have improved access to specialty care. The objective of this study was to assess current levels of difficulty accessing specialty care for CHC patients, by insurance type, and to identify specific barriers and strategies that CHCs are using to overcome these barriers.

STUDY DESIGN

Cross-sectional survey, administered during summer 2017, of medical directors at CHCs in 9 states and the District of Columbia, all of which expanded Medicaid.

METHODS

Surveys were administered to medical directors at 361 CHCs (response rate, 55%) to assess the difficulty of accessing specialty care by insurance type and to identify the specialties for which it was most difficult to obtain new patient visits. The survey also elicited ratings of commonly reported barriers to obtaining specialty care and identified strategies used by CHCs to access specialty care for patients. Descriptive results are presented.

RESULTS

Nearly 60% of CHCs reported difficulty obtaining new patient specialty visits for their Medicaid patients, most often for orthopedists. Barriers to specialty care reported by CHCs included that few specialists in Medicaid managed care organization (MCO) networks were accepting new patients (69.4%) and MCO administrative requirements for obtaining specialist consults (49.0%). To enhance access to specialists, CHCs reported that they entered into referral agreements, developed appointment reminder systems, and participated in data exchange and other community-based initiatives.

CONCLUSIONS

Medicaid patients at CHCs face many barriers to accessing specialty care. Payment policies and network adequacy rules may need to be reexamined to address these challenges.

Older Adult Preferences of Mobile Application Functionality Supporting Medication Self-Management

Health systems and insurers alike are increasingly interested in leveraging mHealth (mobile health) tools to support patient health-related behaviors including medication adherence. However, these tools are not widely used by older patients. This study explores patient preferences for functionality in a smartphone application (app) that supports medication self-management among older adults with multiple chronic conditions. We conducted six discussion groups in Chicago, Miami, and Denver (N = 46). English-speaking older adults (55 and older) who owned smartphones and took five or more prescription medicines were invited to participate. Discussions covered familiarity with and use of current apps and challenges with taking multidrug regimens. Participants reviewed a range of possible mobile app functions and were asked to give feedback regarding the acceptability and desirability of each to support medication management. Very few participants (n = 3) reported current use of a mobile app for medication support, although all were receptive. Challenges to medication use were forgetfulness, fear of adverse events, and managing medication information from multiple sources. Desired features included (1) a list and consolidated schedule of medications, (2) identification and warning of unsafe medication interactions, (3) reminder alerts to take medicine, and (4) the ability record when medications were taken. Features relating to refill ordering, pharmacy information, and comparing costs for medication were not considered to be as important for an app.

Peak Occurrence of Retinal Detachment following Cataract Surgery: A Systematic Review and Pooled Analysis with Internal Validation

Introduction

Timing of retinal detachment (RD) following cataract surgery is of importance for both diagnostic and prognostic factors. However, results on RD onset-time following cataract surgery have been conflicting.

Method

A systematic pooled analysis of the literature regarding timing of retinal detachment following cataract surgery. Outcomes were verified against an independent dataset.

Results

Twenty-one studies, reporting on rates of RD in 3,352,094 eyes of 2,458,561 patients, met our inclusion criteria and were included in the analysis. The mean pooled time to RD following surgery was 23.12 months (95% CI: 17.79-28.45 months) with high heterogeneity between studies (I ²=100%, P < 0.00001). Meta-analytic pooling for the risk of retinal detachment revealed a risk of 1.167% (95% CI: 0.900 to 1.468, I ²=99.50%, P < 0.0001). A retrospective chart review identified 54 pseudophakic RD cases (mean age 65.5, 59.3% males). The 95% confidence interval for the mean time to RD was 3.1-6.75 years.

Conclusions

The interval between cataract surgery and RD in a pooled analysis revealed a mean time of approximately 1.5-2.3 years. However, there was high variability between studies. Validation based on our local results showed similar yet slightly longer time frames. Timing of pseudophakic retinal detachment might direct appropriate follow-up, assisting in earlier detection.

Improving Patient Compliance With Post-EVAR Surveillance May Prevent Late Rupture

Endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) has gained increasing popularity in the treatment of infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm. Despite its favorable early outcomes, the long-term efficacy of EVAR remains a concern. Late rupture is the ultimate treatment failure and continues to complicate EVAR. Univariate and multivariate analyses have identified factors predictive of late rupture. The importance of EVAR surveillance to prevent late complications is equally widely acknowledged. This article aims to present our current understanding of the precipitating factors of late rupture after EVAR and explores whether the key to its prevention lies within improving patient factors, particularly compliance to follow-up appointments or whether physicians hold the solution.

Patient needs and preferences for herb-drug-disease interaction alerts: a structured interview study

BACKGROUND

While complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is commonly used in the United States and elsewhere, and hazardous interactions with prescription drugs can occur, patients do not regularly communicate with physicians about their CAM use. The objective of this study was to discover patient information needs and preferences for herb-drug-disease interaction alerts.

METHODS

We recruited 50 people from several locations within the University of Utah Hospital to participate in this structured interview study. They were asked to provide their preferences for the herb-drug-disease interaction alerts. Qualitative methods were used to reveal the themes that emerged from the interviews.

RESULTS

Most participants reported they had previously used, or they were currently using, CAM therapies. The majority had made the effort to inform their healthcare provider(s) about their CAM usage, although some had not. We found that most respondents were interested in receiving alerts and information about potential interactions. Many preferred to receive the alerts in a variety of ways, both in person and electronically.

CONCLUSIONS

In addition to conventional medicine, many patients regularly use complementary and alternative therapies. And yet, communication between patients and providers about CAM use is not consistent. There is a demand for interventions in health care that provide timely, integrative communication support. Delivering the herb-drug-disease alerts through multiple channels could help meet critical patient information needs.

Getting patients in the door: medical appointment reminder preferences

PURPOSE

Between 23% and 34% of outpatient appointments are missed annually. Patients who frequently miss medical appointments have poorer health outcomes and are less likely to use preventive health care services. Missed appointments result in unnecessary costs and organizational inefficiencies. Appointment reminders may help reduce missed appointments; particular types may be more effective than other types. We used a survey with a discrete choice experiment (DCE) to learn why individuals miss appointments and to assess appointment reminder preferences.

METHODS

We enrolled a national sample of adults from an online survey panel to complete demographic and appointment habit questions as well as a 16-task DCE designed in Sawtooth Software's Discover tool. We assessed preferences for four reminder attributes - initial reminder type, arrival of initial reminder, reminder content, and number of reminders. We derived utilities and importance scores.

RESULTS

We surveyed 251 adults nationally, with a mean age of 43 (range 18-83) years: 51% female, 84% White, and 8% African American. Twenty-three percent of individuals missed one or more appointments in the past 12 months. Two primary reasons given for missing an appointment include transportation problems (28%) and forgetfulness (26%). Participants indicated the initial reminder type (21%) was the most important attribute, followed by the number of reminders (10%). Overall, individuals indicated a preference for a single reminder, arriving via email, phone call, or text message, delivered less than 2 weeks prior to an appointment. Preferences for reminder content were less clear.

CONCLUSION

The number of missed appointments and reasons for missing appointments are consistent with prior research. Patient-centered appointment reminders may improve appointment attendance by addressing some of the reasons individuals report missing appointments and by meeting patients' needs. Future research is necessary to determine if preferred reminders used in practice will result in improved appointment attendance in clinical settings.