Verteporfin photodynamic therapy for neovascular age-related ...

172 Appendix 1Resource use questionnaire:September 2005: Please note that questions 5, 6 and 7 should be answered by allpatients for the extended dataset is being collected. There was an error in question 4 ofthe questionnaire originally distributed to DPs collecting the extended dataset. (This itemstated that the person administrating the questionnaire should jump to question 8, if thepatient had not visited the hospital for a low vision appointment in the last 3 months.) Thedatabase has been amended to allow the answers to these questions to be entered when apatient answers “no” to question 4.• The questionnaire should be administered either by a nurse or a health careprofessional, by interviewing the patient.• The patient should be asked each of the 27 questions listed, and a response should begiven for each question and sub-question, except on the first screening visit whenquestions 1 and 2 should be omitted.• Where a sub-question is not relevant, rather than leaving it blank it should be stated tobe not relevant (NA). e.g. for Q3 if the patient has not used the helpline, then for Q3(b)rather than leaving the question blank NA should be circled. Q28 allows the interviewerto record any additional information that the interviewers considers may be important forestimating or interpreting costs.• Make sure that the answers for a particular question are consistent, e.g. if a patient hassaid they have visited the GP’s surgery during the last three months for reasons relatedto their eye condition, then make sure that there is tick in the relevant box(es)corresponding to each visit made.• For certain questions it may be necessary to prompt the patient and give furtherinformation about what to consider when answering the question. For example, Q6requires the total time associated with the visit to be recorded. This requires the patientto consider travel time, waiting time, consultation time etc, and it would be helpful for theinterviewer to explain this.• For Qq 7 and 11 the interviewer may need to enter additional details to interpret thecosts given. For example the mode of transport, cost of parking or use of a travel car orconcessionary pass may all determine the cost, so listing them provides importantinformation for estimating the travel costs.• Note that patients have to consider services use over the previous three months. Anyappointment, visit, etc. that occurred more than three months ago are not relevant, andshould not be included.• Each question refers to resource use related to the eye condition. Unrelated resourceuse should not be included. There may be instances where the patient is unclearwhether the services used were related to the eye condition or not, in such cases theresource use should be included, but it would be helpful if the interview could describeany uncertainty by using the open-ended question at the end of the questionnaire (Q28).• For Question 1, if the patient is unsure what a fluorescein angiography is, anexplanation should be offered, e.g. angiography is when several photographs are takenof the eye. Similarly for PDT: e.g. PDT is when a doctor shines a laser light in your eye totreat your eye problem. For this question we are only interested in the rarecircumstances where a complication is sufficiently serious to cause the treatment to bestopped/the patient admitted to hospital.• Q25 is only applicable to patients who are accompanied. The answer “no” should berecorded in part (a) if a spouse, relative or friend accompanies the patient but is not inpaid employment. The answer “N/A” should be recorded if the patient is notaccompanied. If the answer to Q25 (a) is “no” or “N/A”, go to Q27.• Q27 should be used to capture any cost not previously covered. Again only resource userelated to the eye condition during the previous three months should be included.