A Design Thinking Approach to Developing a Clinical Decision Support System for Breathlessness in Primary Care

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Primary Care Medicine
• Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

• Clinical decision support systems (CDSS) can aid guideline implementation but face clinician adoption barriers.
• Bridging the research-translation gap requires effective tools for healthcare professionals.
• Breathlessness assessment in primary care presents challenges for consistent guideline adherence.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a CDSS for breathlessness assessment in primary care utilizing a design thinking approach.
• To address clinician barriers to the uptake of decision support tools.
• To evaluate the usability and utility of the developed CDSS with general practitioners.

Main Methods:

• An exploratory focus group informed the initial low-fidelity mockup of the CDSS.
• Two rounds of Think-Aloud testing were conducted on the prototype.
• Split-run (A/B) testing was employed in the second round to address user interface concerns.

Main Results:

• General practitioners (GPs) perceived the CDSS as a valuable aid in breathlessness assessments.
• Clinicians expressed openness to integrating the CDSS into their practice.
• The design thinking approach facilitated rapid and cost-effective insight generation.

Conclusions:

• A design thinking methodology, combined with rapid usability testing, can effectively develop and refine clinical decision support systems.
• The developed CDSS shows promise for supporting primary care clinicians in managing breathlessness.
• This approach offers a practical and efficient way to gain user insights for tool development.