Digital Outpatient Services for Adults: Development of an Intervention and Protocol for a Multicenter Non-Randomized...

Area of Science:

• Digital Health
• Health Services Research
• Patient Outcomes

Background:

• Healthcare systems face increasing patient loads and resource constraints.
• Digital outpatient services offer flexible follow-up and enhance patient health literacy.
• Existing research often lacks focus on generic outcomes like health literacy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the digital outpatient service intervention.
• To present the protocol for an ongoing multicenter, nonrandomized trial.
• To evaluate the intervention's impact on health literacy and other patient-reported outcomes.

Main Methods:

• A multicomponent digital solution including a mobile app and chat function.
• Patient journey maps used for tailored intervention development.
• Non-randomized controlled trial comparing digital service to standard care over 6 months.
• Primary outcome: health literacy measured by the Health Literacy Questionnaire.

Main Results:

• Trial commenced September 2021, intervention began January 2022.
• Recruitment concluded with 55 control and 107 intervention participants.
• Follow-up completion expected July 2023; results anticipated December 2023.

Conclusions:

• The study evaluates a digital intervention focused on self-monitoring and health literacy.
• Tailored content based on patient needs and journey maps enhances applicability.
• Findings will inform the use of digital tools in clinical care for diverse patient populations.