DM LitFinder™ Update

March 2007—The DM LitFinder™ is a Web-based, searchable database that allows for quick and efficient access to peer-reviewed disease management papers that have reported clinical, financial and humanistic outcomes. The application can help users identify citations and abstracted contents, but it does not provide access to the full length paper. The DM LitFinder™ covers eight diseases and conditions: asthma, congestive heart failure, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), coronary artery disease (CAD), end-stage renal disease (ESRD), high-risk pregnancy and depression. The DM LitFinder™ includes English language papers describing population health improvement programs based in the United States, but it does not include drug or medical device trials.

The DM LitFinder™ has been operational on the DMAA Web site since 2003. In early 2006, an Editorial Advisory Board (EAB) was established to guide the selection of papers that would be included each new release of the DM LitFinder™. Individuals who serve on the EAB have extensive experience in the strategy and operations of disease management. The collaboration of disease management experts assists in identifying useful and actionable papers for the DM LitFinder™. To date, the EAB has held two extremely valuable meetings in 2006 and will continue to meet biannually.

At the EAB's November 2006 meeting, members selected 14 new papers to be added to the previous 218 articles in the most recent DM LitFinder™ release. A MEDLINE search from Jan. 1, 2006, through Sept. 30, 2006, flagged 1,355 articles under the terms "care management," "disease management," "case management," "population-based program," "quality improvement program," "outcome study," "population-management" and "self-management" for each of the eight diseases/conditions listed above. Peer-reviewed articles in English that had an abstract online and that reported clinical, cost, utilization, satisfaction, quality of life and/or functional status were sought. A pre-selection of 56 titles was completed, first by a masters-level nurse with many years experience in disease management and then reviewed critically by Victor Villagra, MD. The EAB reviewed the abstracts individually and as a group of 56 papers prior to issuing its final recommendations.

The main objective of the DM LitFinder™ is to provide a user-friendly, concise and current, peer-reviewed disease management material to professionals who are interested in understanding the successes and challenges in disease management programs.