Objective: We herein provide a description of a health information technology tool using computer-assisted survey instruments as a methodology for documentation during long-term opioid therapy.
Design: We report our experience using the Prescription Opioid Documentation and Surveillance (PODS) System, a medical informatics tool that utilizes validated questionnaires to automate the assessment of opioid prescribing for chronic nonmalignant pain.
Setting and patients: Chronic pain patients answered questions that were presented on a computer terminal prior to each appointment in a Department of Veterans Affairs Pain Clinic.
Measures: Pain levels, activities of daily living, and screening for common psychological disorders were sought at each visit. Results were tabulated with some information gathered sequentially permitting evaluation of progress. Following a face-to-face interview, the clinician added additional comments to the medical record.
Results: By deploying a systematic series of questions that are recalled by the computer, PODS assures a comprehensive assessment.
Conclusions: The PODS fulfills medicolegal requirements for documentation and provides a systematic means of determining outcomes. This process facilitates the determination of the appropriate intervals between clinic visits by stratifying patients into high, moderate, and low risk.
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