Enhancing Care Partnerships Using a Rheumatology Dashboard: Bringing Together What Matters Most to Both Patients and...

Area of Science:

• Rheumatology
• Health Informatics
• Patient-Centered Care

Background:

• Person-centered care models emphasize patient-clinician partnerships.
• Shared decision-making and evidence-based treatments are key components of coproduced care.
• Electronic health record (EHR) modules can facilitate these partnerships.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the utility and impact of an electronic previsit questionnaire and point-of-care dashboard.
• To evaluate user experiences in supporting the coproduction of rheumatology care.
• To explore the role of technology in enhancing patient engagement and shared decision-making.

Main Methods:

• A mixed-methods design was employed to evaluate a customized EHR rheumatology module.
• Surveys were administered to caregivers of children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) (n=113), adults with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) (n=116), and clinicians (n=12).
• Semistructured interviews were conducted with patients, caregivers, and care teams (n=19) and analyzed thematically alongside descriptive statistics.

Main Results:

• Dashboards were reported as useful for discussions (88%), facilitating communication about priorities (82%), and aiding healthcare decision-making (83%) and treatment plan creation (77%).
• High satisfaction was noted, with 67% of caregivers/patients and 55% of clinicians recommending the dashboard.
• System usability scores were above average (77.1 ± 15.6), indicating effective information synthesis, communication, and decision support.

Conclusions:

• Visual point-of-care dashboards effectively support the coproduction of rheumatology care among patients, caregivers, and clinicians.
• The findings highlight the potential for broader implementation to enhance patient self-management and clinician efficiency.
• Further scaling and spreading of these dashboard tools are recommended for wider benefit.