Healthcare Professionals' Perspective on the Implementation of Electronic Patient Reported Outcomes (ePROs) in Danish...

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Digital Health Implementation
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Electronic patient-reported outcomes (ePROs) are increasingly vital for patient-centered care.
• The Danish municipal health sector is implementing a new ePRO system, Kommunal PRO (KPRO).
• KPRO aims to support healthcare professional (HCP) dialogue, standardize PRO questionnaires, and facilitate data sharing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate healthcare professionals' (HCPs) approaches to and utilization of the Kommunal PRO (KPRO) system.
• To identify challenges and impacts of KPRO implementation within Danish municipal health centers.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative study employing observations of HCPs.
• Interviews with healthcare professionals and secretaries using the KPRO system.
• Analysis of the system's integration into daily workflows and its perceived effectiveness.

Main Results:

• KPRO implementation significantly alters work tasks for both HCPs and administrative staff (secretaries).
• The system's applicability may be limited across diverse disease areas within the municipal healthcare context.
• Incompatibility issues with existing municipal record systems result in duplicated work and inefficiencies.

Conclusions:

• The KPRO system necessitates further investigation into its workflow integration and disease-specific applicability.
• Addressing system incompatibilities with municipal records is crucial for optimizing efficiency and reducing redundant tasks.
• Recommendations for improving KPRO implementation and use should consider these identified challenges in future planning.