Collecting health history information: the accuracy of a patient self-administered questionnaire in an orthopedic outpatient setting.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The utility of patient self-administered health history questionnaires has been extensively studied in physician practice settings, but little such research has been done in populations germane to physical therapist practice. The purpose of this study was to document the accuracy of a self-administered questionnaire for collecting patients' history of illness, surgery, and medication use. SUBJECTS Outpatient orthopedic surgery candidates (n=100, 54% female, 46% male; mean age=46.9 years) with common orthopedic disorders were recruited. METHODS Using the same form, patient health history information was recorded separately by patient self-report and by an experienced health care practitioner. Patient questionnaire responses were compared for accuracy with responses generated by the practitioner and those found in the medical record. RESULTS The mean percentage of agreement across questionnaire items was 96% (range=57%-100%); the mean kappa value was .69 (range=.154-1.0). Of the total questionnaire responses across all patients (n=9,436), 2.55% (n=241) of the responses were noted "yes" on the practitioner questionnaire, but not on the patient questionnaire; 1.8% of the items (n=174) were noted "yes" on the patient questionnaire, but not on the practitioner questionnaire. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION The results support the accuracy of patient self-administered health history questionnaires in reporting important health history information.