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A Controlled-Trial Assessment of Effect on Neonatal Care

David D. Wirtschafter, MD; James Sumners, MD; James R. Jackson, PhD; C. Michael Brooks, EdD; Malcolm Turner, PhD

Am J Dis Child. 1986;140(8):791-797.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

During the last decade, neonatal intensive care programs were developed in Alabama as elsewhere. Regionalization was associated with burgeoning transport demands and clinical activity.¹ The influx of patients initially managed in the community led to the recognition that there were significant differences between the medical practice of primary and tertiary care physicians. Our unit, like others, sought to narrow these differences through continuing medical education (CME). Conventional CME techniques, such as monthly professional updates and semiannual lectures, were supplemented with care protocols or clinical algorithms as they are sometimes termed. The hypothesis was that care protocols would be a more effective and efficient means to change medical practice. A controlled-trial technique was used to evaluate the impact of these interventions on both neonatal care process and outcomes. The results showed that clinical algorithms can affect practice performance. We recommend their consideration as a supplementary CME technique to those seeking . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
From the Clinical Information Systems Group (Dr Wirtschafter), Department of Pediatrics (Drs Wirtschafter and Sumners), Office of Educational Development (Drs Jackson and Brooks), and Department of Biomathematics (Dr Turner), University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr Wirtschafter is now with the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program, Pasadena, Calif.

Footnotes
Accepted for publication April 24, 1986.

Preliminary data in this report were presented at the 18th Annual Conference on Research in Medical Education, Association of American Medical Colleges, Washington, DC, Nov 7, 1979, and the Ninth Annual Conference of the Society for Computer Medicine, Atlanta, Nov 8, 1979.

Reprint requests to University of Alabama School of Medicine/L2111A Volker Hall, Office of Educational Development, University Station, Birmingham, AL 35294 (Dr Brooks).

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