Does a fixed physician reminder system improve the care of patients with coronary artery disease? A randomized controlled trial.

Despite evidence from randomized trials and national guidelines that recommend the use of aspirin, β-blockers, and cholesterol-lowering agents for patients with coronary artery disease, many patients are not treated appropriately.1,2,3 Several types of fixed-message physician reminder systems—including checklists, chart tags, and computer-generated reminders—have improved physician compliance with cancer screening guidelines,4 but it is less clear whether they are effective at improving disease management. We examined whether the combination of a computer-generated and written reminder system provided during patient visits could increase patient receipt of aspirin, β-blockers, and cholesterol-lowering agents.