Detailed Description
An INFOSuite is an organized process for obtaining health-related information surrounding a patient's condition and response to treatment. 

Each INFOSuite includes an INFOCore, an electronic intake form with a series of scales specifically tailored to the disease state. These gather information on demographics, adherence, psychosocial factors, symptom changes, or current concerns, as appropriate.

The patient's responses to the questions in the INFOCore dictate which, if any, of the additional assessments in the INFOSuite should be administered. These additional assessments can be automatically triggered by the patient's responses as they complete the INFOCore, or by the physician during the course of the patient interview.

Two additional components of each INFOSuite are the Launch Form and the Update Form. 

The Launch Form captures basic data like age, race, marital status, diagnosis, insurance, and provider name. It's also used, as the name suggests, to "launch" assessments for patients to self-administer. From the Launch Form, the medical staff or medical receptionist prompts an automatic download of the correct assessment for each patient at each office visit. 

The Update Form collects post-treatment information, including changes in treatment, prescriptions, and the results of laboratory reports.

Using these three components (the Launch Form, the assessment(s), and the Update Form), the practice captures and stores a detailed picture of each patient's condition and treatment program. The database created is used for population-level monitoring, to review practice efficiencies, and to implement and track adherence to clinical guidelines.

Components
Launch Form – The Launch Form collects provider name, insurance program, name, race, age, marital status, date of diagnosis (if available), and current course of treatment, if appropriate. The Launch Form also tracks the patient's history of regular vision and dental exams, both critical for the diabetes patient.

INFOCore Diabetes – Demographic information, sections from the Michigan Diabetes Research and Training Center's Diabetes Care Profile, and the Diabetes Impact Measurement Scale (quality of life) assessment.

The INFOCore Diabetes collects, specifically, information on: Medication history, diagnosed comorbid or other conditions, family disease history, personal disease history, race, gender, year of birth, flu/pneumovax immunization, smoking history, and alcohol consumption. Questions also pre-screen for indicators of depression and adherence issues

In-depth assessments are chosen for their relevance to the symptoms patients with the disease state typically experience and for the way they interact to present a rounded picture of a patient's condition.

Hows Your Health – This general health risk assessment is a valuable tool for educating patients about simple lifestyle changes they can make. Stabilization for a type 2 diabetes patient depends largely upon the patient's willingness and ability to make necessary changes to accommodate and control their condition. This makes education a critical factor in adherence. HYH provides a detailed risk assessment the physician can use as a jumping off point for patient counseling. The printed report is in clear, non-technical language and makes a suitable patient handout.

QPD Panel – The QPD Panel (Quick PsychoDiagnostics Panelä) is a psychiatric “lab test” that allows physicians to diagnose nine common psychiatric disorders. Comorbid depression is common in diabetes patients and early detection is useful for the physician. The QPD detects major depression, dysthymic disorder, bipolar disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, alcohol and substance abuse, bulimia nervosa, somatization, and suicide risk. 

Update Form – The INFOSuite Diabetes Update Form collects the results of lab tests appropriate to the condition, including:

Hemoglobin A1C (HbA1c) 
Microalbuminuria 
Retinopathy
Blood Lipids (cholesterol, triglycerides) 
Fasting Glucose 
EKG 
BP 

In addition to tracking the patient's physical condition in relation to their diabetes, these lab tests allow the physician to watch for the development of a cardiovascular problem, another common comorbidity for diabetes patients.

Protocols
Scales in the basic INFOCore that assess the social and psychological factors related to diabetes and its treatment could expose problems with the patient's understanding of their disease or their self-care regime, problems with the patient's social support network, or a failure to adhere to their treatment program for other reasons. 

Any of these can trigger the administration of a more in-depth assessment.

Changes in results of physical lab tests will also trigger an "alert" from the system.

The advantage of collecting data into an integrated system is that all collected information is available for reporting. The physician can see, for instance, a drop in patient-reported adherence combined with evidence of increasing depression. This combination can signal the development of a serious problem which the physician can address before it becomes critical.

The INFOSuite allows you to track patient progress on an individual basis, including trending to reflect changes in the patient's symptoms. 

Population Management
Aggregate reports allow you to compare data across your entire patient population. “Dashboard” views let you make comparisons within and across groups. You can measure program effectiveness, refine treatment protocols, and plan how to allocate practice resources.