Evaluating health-related quality of life: cost comparison of computerized touch-screen technology and traditional paper systems.

We estimated and compared the costs for three different methods of administering and evaluating the Short Form-36 as a routine part of clinical practice from the provider perspective. In an outpatient pain management practice, we assessed a computer touch-screen system with facsimile and scanning scoring methods. Equipment, supply, and labor costs needed to construct, maintain, and generate reports for each system were measured. The annual fixed, variable, and total costs/survey were calculated. Sensitivity analyses were performed varying the number of surveys administered/year. The facsimile method was the least costly, $9.62 and $5.88/survey, at annual questionnaire volumes of 250 and 1000, respectively. When the annual survey volume increased to 1250 (5 surveys/day), the costs of the facsimile ($5.63/survey) and computer touch-screen ($5.65/survey) methods were nearly equivalent per survey administration. At volumes of 1500 and above, the least costly method was the computer touch screen at $5.47/survey. The system implemented in a clinical practice is dependent not only on questionnaire volume but also on personnel availability, equipment access, required speed of results, and the acceptable level of data error.