Reimagining Patient-Centered Pathways: Enhancing Pathway Development Methods with Patient-Centered Design Principles.

Area of Science:

• Digital Health and Health Information Systems (HIS) research.

Background:

• Current health information systems and patient pathways often lack patient-centered approaches.
• There is a growing need for digital health solutions that cater to individual patient needs and preferences.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct an umbrella review to identify core themes of patient-centeredness in healthcare.
• To translate these themes into actionable meta-requirements and design principles for patient pathway development.

Main Methods:

• An umbrella review methodology was employed to synthesize existing literature on patient-centeredness.
• Identified themes were systematically translated into requirements and design principles.

Main Results:

• Five overarching patient-centered themes were identified: patient empowerment, patient engagement, holistic care, caregiver support, and care coordination.
• These themes provide a framework for developing more patient-centered health information systems.

Conclusions:

• The findings advance the understanding of patient-centeredness in Health Information Systems (HIS).
• This research offers critical insights for designing and implementing patient pathways that prioritize individual needs and enhance digital health experiences.