Conducting Outcomes Research in a Community-based Practice Setting

Although there is both a need and a desire to critically evaluate data from community-based clinical practices, many clinicians are inadequately prepared for this undertaking. This paper illustrates the process of establishing a computerized research data base in a community-based medical practice by highlighting issues of design, data collection, enrollment, and data management. In addition, a practical illustration of implementing such a data base system to perform community-based outcomes research among patients with chronic sinusitis is presented. Data bases established for community-based outcomes research can serve as a means for a single medical practice to examine patient outcomes or can serve as a component of a collaborative multi-site research effort.