Quality of Care in Ulcerative Colitis: A Modified Delphi Panel Approach

Area of Science:

• Gastroenterology and Clinical Quality Improvement
• Patient-Centered Care in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Background:

• Ulcerative colitis (UC) management requires standardized quality-of-care (QoC) metrics.
• Existing QoC frameworks may not fully capture the complexities of UC treatment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish clinical consensus on critical quality-of-care (QoC) attributes for ulcerative colitis (UC) treatment.
• To identify attributes that can enhance treatment outcomes and guide best practices in UC care.

Main Methods:

• A modified Delphi panel involving 16 European experts in UC.
• A 3-round consensus process including interviews and web-based surveys.
• Literature review to identify initial quality-of-care (QoC) attributes.

Main Results:

• Consensus was reached on 61 quality-of-care (QoC) attributes across 20 domains.
• Diagnosis, treatment adherence, and access to care/treatment were rated as critically important.
• The 'treatment goals' domain contained the most attributes (n=9).

Conclusions:

• Quality-of-care (QoC) is a dynamic concept crucial for improving UC outcomes and optimizing healthcare resources.
• Challenges in clinician-patient communication due to time/resource constraints may be addressed by technology.
• Standardized QoC attributes can guide best practices in ulcerative colitis management.