Natural Language Processing and Quality Assessment in Primary Care

Mayo Clinic

Status: Completed

Conditions: Diabetes

Treatments: Other: Brochure: Care of the Feet for Those at Risk; Other: Quality Survey: foot exam, tobacco and aspirin use

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT01023243

08-002255

Details and patient eligibility

About

The investigators propose to use a Natural Language Processing System (NLP) to provide an initial baseline report for primary care patients at risk for diabetes and cardiovascular complications that will include: a) evidence of foot exam documentation in the previous year; b) use of aspirin for cardiovascular risk reduction; and c) tobacco use. As part of a randomized trial, we plan to use a previously validated mailed survey (NCQA Provider Recognition Program) that requests information on the last foot exam, use of aspirin and tobacco. Patients who have been identified by NLP as not having had a foot exam will be randomized into treatment and control arms. Both arms will receive an informational letter; with a second mailing to nonresponders after one month, describing the key strategies for effective patient-physician communication during the clinical encounter. The treatment arm will also receive an informational letter and patient education brochure containing key messages about the importance of regular foot examinations. NLP will be repeated after 6 months to compare the impact of the patient education materials.

Enrollment: 389 patients

Sex: All

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• primary care patients with diagnosis of diabetes

Exclusion criteria

• unwilling to give informed consent

Trial design

Primary purpose: Health Services Research

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Single Group Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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389 participants in 3 patient groups, including a placebo group

1 CAre of the Feet for Those at Risk

Placebo Comparator group

Description:

secular trends for physician documentation in the medical record for care of the feet for high risk patients

Treatment:

Other: Quality Survey: foot exam, tobacco and aspirin use

Other: Brochure: Care of the Feet for Those at Risk

Care of the feet for those at risk

Active Comparator group

Description:

the impact of 1) patient survey regarding last foot exam, tobacco and aspirin use on documentation of foot exam and 2) patient education material: Care of the Foot For Those at Risk, on documentation of foot examination in the medical record

Treatment:

Other: Quality Survey: foot exam, tobacco and aspirin use

Impact of Quality Survey

Active Comparator group

Description:

Impact of patient survey regarding last foot exam, tobacco and aspirin use on documentation of foot exam in the medical record

Treatment:

Other: Brochure: Care of the Feet for Those at Risk