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Biomedical subjects

W V Slack

Publications and source records attributed to W V Slack.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Computer-based interview for screening blood donors for risk of HIV transmission.

OBJECTIVE: To test the ability of a computer-based interview to detect factors related to the risk of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) among potential blood donors and to determine donor reactions to the use of the interview. DESIGN: A comparison of the rate of detection of HIV-related factors elicited by a computer interview with that obtained by standard American Red Cross procedures for assessment of donor suitability, including a randomized crossover trial in which the order of the two methods was reversed. Information obtained by the computer was not available to influence the use of blood components for transfusion. SETTING: The computer interview was administered to donors at an American Red Cross blood donor center and at a mobile blood drive at a hospital. SUBJECTS: Consecutive sample of 294 male and female blood donors 18 to 75 years of age. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Subjects' responses to the computer-based interview as well as responses to the standard Red Cross written questionnaires and face-to-face interviews were used for donor assessment. RESULTS: The interview took an average of 8 minutes to complete. From among 272 donors who provided complete data, the computer identified 12 donors who reported either behaviors associated with a risk of HIV acquisition or symptoms compatible with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome; none of these donors had been so identified either by routine written questionnaires or by face-to-face interviews used to screen potential blood donors. Only one of the 12 identified donors used the confidential unit exclusion procedure to prevent use of his donated unit. The rate of elicitation of HIV-related factors by the computer interview was 12 (4.4%) of 272 (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.3% to 7.6%), compared with two (0.13%) of 1536 (95% confidence upper bound, 0.28%) using the standard Red Cross procedure (P less than .0001). Tests for antibodies to HIV were negative in blood samples from all of the 272 subjects studied. The subjects enjoyed the computer interview and judged it to be more private than the standard donor assessment method. They also predicted that donors would be more honest with the computer interview than with a human interviewer. CONCLUSIONS: Computer-based screening elicits more HIV-related factors in the health histories of blood donors than do the standard questionnaire and interviewing methods currently in use. Computer-based screening is also acceptable to blood donors.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

The effect of computer-based reminders on the management of hospitalized patients with worsening renal function.

We performed a prospective time-series study to determine whether computerized reminders to physicians about rising creatinine levels in hospitalized patients receiving nephrotoxic and renally excreted medications led to more rapid adjustment or discontinuation of those medications, and to evaluate physician acceptance of computerized reminders. Laboratory data were followed on 10,076 patients over 13,703 admissions generating 1104 events of rising creatinine levels during treatment with nephrotoxic or renally excreted medications. During the intervention period, medications were adjusted or discontinued an average of 21.1 hours sooner (p less than 0.0001) after such an event occurred when compared with the control period. This effect of the reminders was strongest for patients receiving renally excreted and mildly nephrotoxic medications. Of physicians who responded to a computerized survey, 53% said that the reminders had been helpful in the care of their patients, while 31% felt that the reminders were annoying. Seventy-three percent wished to continue receiving computerized reminders. We conclude that computerized reminders are well-accepted in our hospital and have a strong effect on physician behavior.

Aged↗
PubMed1977

Collection of a clean voided urine specimen: a comparison among spoken, written, and computer-based instructions.

In an effort to compare different methods of instructing patients, 99 women 18-25 years of age were given computer, spoken, weitten, or no instructions for the collection of a clean voided urine specimen. The group who received computer instructions was the most uniform in its performance (P less than 0.002, F-test) and reported the fewest procedural problems (P less than 0.02, Fisher test). In addition, this group had fewer contaminating bacteria than the group who received written instructions (P less than 0.03 , Mann-Whitney test). The group who received no instructions had more bacteria (P less than 0.0001, Mann-Whitney test) than any of the other groups. The effectiveness of the computer instruction was probably related to numerous attributes, including the individualized quality of the dialogue, self-pacing, self-testing, and privacy.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1976

Computer interviewing of patients with epilepsy.

Epilepsy histories obtained by the computer interview were similar in substance and detail to histories recorded by house staff and attending physicians. In general, more information was obtained by the computer, and negative findings were consistently recorded by the computer. For potentially embarrassing questions, the computer may obtain more accurate information (Slack and Van Cura, 1968b). This might explain the contradictions concerning incontinence and medication. This preliminary study suggests that computer interviewing can provide a reliable method for obtaining epilepsy histories. The study also pointed out where changes in question wording and branching logic would improve the computer interview. These changes are being incorporated into the second version of the epilepsy interview. We hope computer-based interviewing will prove useful to patients and physicians in the diagnosis, treatment, and study of epilepsy.

Computers↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The human genome.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Genetics↗
PubMedDate not supplied

ClinQuery: searching a large clinical database.

We designed a user-friendly computer program that permits physicians to use clinical and demographic descriptors to search a hospital's clinical database for purposes of patient care, teaching, and research. For example, the user can identify all admissions in which diabetic ketoacidosis was diagnosed, the serum bicarbonate level was under 12 mmol/liter, and the length of stay exceeded 7 days. Once particular admissions have been identified, all data stored in the computerized record can be displayed. Authorized persons can also request the patient's complete medical record for further study. Over a 5-year period, 895 doctors, nurses, medical students, and hospital administrators used Clin-Query to search the clinical database of Boston's Beth Israel Hospital 3724 times. They displayed detailed information on 72,489 patients and requested the complete medical record 5477 times. Responses to a computer-based questionnaire indicated that 16% of the searches were performed for patient care, 38% for clinical research, 16% for teaching and education, 12% for hospital administration, and 18% for general exploration. We conclude that physicians and allied personnel will repeatedly examine and analyze aggregate clinical information when they are provided with the appropriate tools.

Hospital Information Systems↗