Community-based surveillance of acute ischemic heart disease: Are one-time mailed questionnaires to physicians useful?

A 12-month data collection from medical records in Seattle/King County for acute ischemic heart disease among patients with diabetes mellitus was augmented with mailed questionnaires to personal physicians. The responsible Human Subjects Committee restricted the study to a one-time questionnaire mailing. Only 380 of 1,235 patients required physician contact when information was missing from primary data sources. Questionnaires were highly personalized, and most were limited to one page. Seventy-seven per cent of 330 physicians returned at least one questionnaire, and 62% of all questionnaires were returned with usable data. We conclude that useful data may be collected from physicians by way of mailed questionnaires if researchers use a brief and personal format.