Table 4.

Table 4 Basic usage statistics of the system and summary of other findings in the intervention group ^∗ .

Basic usage statistics:

•All patients used the system.

•The average number of sessions per patient was 27 (SD 18, range 4–69) in the six weeks study period.

•On average, a patient-session lasted 12 minutes. The longest patient-session lasted 1 hour and 38 minutes.

•Of all patient-sessions, 16 percent took place after office hours (between 19:00 and 07:00 next day).

•On average, each patient completed 12.6 monitoring questionnaires.

•21 patients sent, on average 4.5 messages. Half of these messages contained a question, and half were personal reports on how the patient was doing.

Summary of other findings:

•Using the system, in eight patients potential problems requiring direct medical actions were detected.

•56% of the patients had no experience with computers before participation.

•Overall appreciation score for “the system as a whole” was 8.0 on a 10 point scale.

•86% of patients felt that health care providers could keep a better eye on their illness, and 83% felt that the system provided a feeling of security.

•89% of patients would advise other patients in similar situations to use the system as well.

^∗ Described in more detail in: van den Brink et al. Involving the patient: a prospective study on use, appreciation and effectiveness of an information system in head and neck cancer care. Int J Med Inform. 2005 Oct;74(10):839–49.