Patient information systems are not more expensive than leaflets

doi:10.1136/bmj.320.7243.1212

BMJ 2000;320:1212 ( 29 April )

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Patient information systems are not more expensive than leaflets

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR $---$ Graham et al, who compared a touch screen system with leaflets for providing women with information on prenatal tests,¹and Wyatt in his commentary² may be too conservative in theirconclusions. Graham et al mention the cost of developing the systemand Wyatt says because there is limited evidence of benefit forthese expensive tools over well designed leaflets they shouldbe used only in the context of rigorous research studies. However,the study did not include an economic comparison of the use ofthe computer and leaflets. A full economic analysis would comparethe estimated development costs of £25 000 and the subsequentmaintenance costs with the costs of the alternative. It wouldthen compare the costs with the marginal benefits during the periodthat the system is inuse.

If the system is readily transferable to another site, development costs at that other site would not be . . . [Full text of this article]

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Randomised controlled trial comparing effectiveness of touch screen system with leaflet for providing women with information on prenatal tests • Commentary: Evaluating electronic consumer health material: Wendy Graham, Pat Smith, A Kamal, A Fitzmaurice, N Smith, N Hamilton, and Jeremy Wyatt
BMJ 2000 320: 155-160. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]