Information technology to support improved care for chronic illness.

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Chronic Illness Management
• Quality Improvement

Background:

• Chronic illness outcomes improve with integrated care models, evidence-based treatments, and proactive management.
• Health information technology is crucial for implementing effective chronic care models.
• Uncertainty exists regarding the impact of specific informatics technologies on chronic illness care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize existing knowledge on informatics components supporting chronic illness care improvement.
• To achieve expert consensus on essential informatics elements for enhancing chronic illness management.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature review to identify relevant informatics components.
• Development of "use case" models informed by literature, clinical input, and quality improvement projects.
• National expert panel process to build consensus on information system components.

Main Results:

• Informatics should be patient-centered, outcome-oriented, and support illness self-management.
• Routine assessment and feedback of outcomes to clinicians are recommended for population-based care management.
• Interactive, sequential, disorder-specific treatment pathways with decision support are advised for efficient clinical encounters.

Conclusions:

• Targeted informatics strategies hold significant potential for improving chronic illness care.
• Development and rigorous evaluation of software implementing these strategies are necessary.
• Integration within broader organizational improvement efforts is key for successful implementation.