Optimizing Patient Adverse Drug Reaction History Through the Use of Structured Open Ended Questions

Abstract

Specific Aims: To assess if the use of three targeted open ended questions elicited more adverse drug reactions (ADRs) and allergies than found in the electronic medical record. Subjects: Inpatients at the University of Arizona Medical Center (UAMC) in Tucson, AZ that were 18 years or older and agreed to participate in the study. Methods: Data was collected using a verbal questionnaire. Each patient was asked the exact same three open ended questions in the same order by the one student to determine the number of ADRs the patient has had. The patient’s electronic medical record at UAMC was used to determine the number of ADRs documented. The number of ADRs elicited by the two methods were documented and compared using statistical analysis. No demographic variables were collected in this study. Main Results: A total of 58 patients at UAMC agreed to participate in our study by answering three targeted open ended questions. Overall the use of the three open ended question did elicit more ADRs (mean = 1.12) than listed on their electronic medical record which were elicited by asking one closed ended question (mean = 0.91). However, the results were not statistically significant (p-value = 0.57). Conclusion: The use of three targeted open ended questions appears to elicit a similar number of ADRs compared to the number of ADRs listed in the patient’s electronic medical record.