Documentation of psoriasis in routine care - expert consensus on a German data set

Area of Science:

• Dermatology
• Health Informatics
• Clinical Documentation

Background:

• Standardized documentation for psoriasis is currently lacking in clinical practice.
• Improving patient data collection is crucial for enhancing psoriasis care.
• The need for transparent and consistent data sets is evident.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a comprehensive data set for documenting psoriasis in routine clinical practice.
• To establish standardized, optimal, and optional data sets for psoriasis management.
• To create a decision-making aid for clinicians and documentation system developers.

Main Methods:

• A consensus-based approach involving 27 psoriasis experts.
• Utilized four online Delphi rounds and one in-person meeting.
• Included standardized and open-ended questions, considering patient attitudes and dermatologist feedback.

Main Results:

• A consensus data set comprising 69 variables was established.
• The data set is categorized into standard (20 variables), optimal (31 variables), and optional (18 variables).
• Key groupings include master data, general status, psoriasis history, diagnostics, therapies, and patient-reported outcomes.

Conclusions:

• The developed data set serves as a guide for psoriasis documentation in daily practice.
• It aims to improve decision-making and orient the development of future documentation systems.
• Standardization of psoriasis data collection is recommended for enhanced patient care and research.