PMID- 18611094
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20080814
LR  - 20080709
IS  - 1936-2692 (Electronic)
IS  - 1088-0224 (Linking)
VI  - 14
IP  - 7
DP  - 2008 Jul
TI  - Automated patient assessments after outpatient surgery using an interactive voice 
      response system.
PG  - 429-36
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To test the feasibility and utility of an interactive voice response 
      system (IVRS) for monitoring patients after outpatient surgery. METHODS: We 
      studied consecutive patients undergoing gynecologic day surgery. The IVRS called 
      patients on the first postoperative day and asked them if they were experiencing 
      new problems. Feasibility was assessed in terms of call responses and acceptance 
      by patients. Utility was measured in terms of the ability of the IVRS to identify 
      adverse events (AEs), defined as procedure-related symptoms requiring a physician 
      or hospital visit. We contacted patients 30 days later to elicit their 
      perceptions of the IVRS and determine AE status. RESULTS: Follow-up was complete 
      for 249 of 270 enrolled patients (92%). The IVRS successfully contacted 130 
      patients (52%). Of the 22 patients (17%) who required a follow-up phone call, 9 
      had a new problem related to surgery, 7 had new or worsening symptoms, 6 wanted 
      to speak with a nurse, and 1 had a medication-related problem. Patients 
      remembering the automated call (n = 96) reported the system easy to use (82%) and 
      comprehend (86%). Most patients (68%) preferred the IVRS to a personal follow-up 
      call (probability greater than 50%, P <.001). AEs occurred in 40 patients (16%; 
      95% confidence interval = 12%, 21%). The IVRS did not identify any AEs because 
      90% of these occurred after the automated call. CONCLUSION: An IVRS-based method 
      of monitoring outpatient surgery patients is feasible. To improve utility, calls 
      must occur later than first postoperative day.
FAU - Forster, Alan J
AU  - Forster AJ
AD  - Department of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. aforster@ohri.ca
FAU - LaBranche, Rinda
AU  - LaBranche R
FAU - McKim, Robert
AU  - McKim R
FAU - Faught, John Wylam
AU  - Faught JW
FAU - Feasby, Thomas E
AU  - Feasby TE
FAU - Janes-Kelley, Selikke
AU  - Janes-Kelley S
FAU - Shojania, Kaveh G
AU  - Shojania KG
FAU - van Walraven, Carl
AU  - van Walraven C
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
PL  - United States
TA  - Am J Manag Care
JT  - The American journal of managed care
JID - 9613960
MH  - Adult
MH  - Aftercare/*methods
MH  - *Ambulatory Surgical Procedures
MH  - Automation
MH  - Female
MH  - *Gynecologic Surgical Procedures
MH  - Humans
MH  - Middle Aged
MH  - Nursing Assessment/methods
MH  - Postoperative Complications/*diagnosis
MH  - Prospective Studies
MH  - *Speech Recognition Software
MH  - Telephone
MH  - User-Computer Interface
EDAT- 2008/07/10 09:00
MHDA- 2008/08/15 09:00
CRDT- 2008/07/10 09:00
PHST- 2008/07/10 09:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2008/08/15 09:00 [medline]
PHST- 2008/07/10 09:00 [entrez]
AID - 10540 [pii]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Am J Manag Care. 2008 Jul;14(7):429-36.