Clinical question
Compared with usual care, how effective are computer-generated reminders delivered on paper to healthcare professionals on quality of care and patient outcomes?
Bottom line
There was moderate evidence that computer-generated reminders delivered on paper to healthcare professionals slightly improved quality of care in terms of compliance with preventive and disease management guidelines (6.8% increase). It was uncertain whether reminders improved patient outcomes.
Providing space on the reminder for a response from the clinician, providing an explanation of the reminder’s content or advice and providing a reference to an influential source, were associated with larger effect sizes.
The heterogeneity of the reminder interventions also suggested reminders can be implemented in various settings for various health conditions.
Caveat
All but two studies took place in outpatient care. None of the studies reported outcomes related to harms or adverse effects.
Context
Clinical practice does not always reflect best practice and evidence, partly because of unconscious acts of omission, information overload or inaccessible information. Reminders may help clinicians overcome these problems by prompting them to recall information they already know or would be expected to know, and by providing information or guidance in a more accessible and relevant format, at a particularly appropriate time.
Cochrane Systematic Review
Arditi C et al. Computer-generated reminders delivered on paper to healthcare professionals: effects on professional practice and healthcare outcomes. Cochrane Reviews, 2017, Issue 7. Art. No.: CD001175.DOI: 10.1002/14651858. CD001175.pub4. This review contains 35 studies involving 137,973 participants.
Cochrane Systematic Reviews for primary care practitioners:
Developed by the Cochrane Primary Care Field, New Zealand Branch of the Australasian Cochrane Centre at the Department of General Practice and Primary Health Care, University of Auckland and funded by the Ministry of Health.
Brian McAvoy is an honorary/adjunct professor of general practice at the Universities of Auckland, Melbourne, Monash and Queensland. New Zealanders can access the Cochrane Library free via www.cochrane.org.nz
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