GAP: a computer-assisted design tool for the development and analysis of evidence-based automated questionnaires.

This paper describes the design and use of a computer-assisted design tool for developing evidence-based automated questionnaires that may assist health practitioners to implement clinical practice guidelines. The Guideline Application Program (GAP) facilitates the design, development, testing, customization, and implementation of interactive patient-computer questionnaires, the analysis of patient-derived information, and the clinical application of practice guidelines that require knowledge of multiple patient-specific characteristics. GAP is being used to create a variety of software applications for HealthQuiz and Microsoft Windows-compatible computers. GAP-generated applications are presently used to support preventive care guideline implementation in primary care settings, preoperative screening in anesthesia clinics, student health screening in Universities, hormone replacement counseling for peri-menopausal women, and patient-reported data collection in various clinical research projects.