The Columbia Registry of Information and Utilization Management Trials.

OBJECTIVE: T systematically locate, register, and abstract information used in comparing effects of various information services (computerized and noncomputerized) and utilization management interventions on the process and outcome of patient care. DESIGN: Manual and electronic database searches located reports that met three main criteria: 1) randomized controlled trial; 2) information or utilization management intervention in the study group with no similar intervention in the control group; and 3) effect of the intervention on the process and/or outcome of patient care had been measured. Published reports were registered in the Columbia Registry. RESULTS: Nearly 600 reports were collected from 24 countries and 189 different publications. Frequently tested interventions included patients or physician education, telephone follow-up, patient or physician reminders, and home care services. Frequently reported effect variables included hospitalization rate, length of stay, immunization rate, and mortality rate. Standardized formal tools were developed for the separation and abstraction of practical information and methodologic details from the collected trial reports. CONCLUSIONS: The registry provides a new source of information for meta-analyses, traditional reviews, and executive summaries of quality improvement of health services. The streamlined knowledge engineering process of quality evaluation and abstraction of critical information can generate helpful information for practitioners and researchers simultaneously.