Implementation of a Digitally Enabled Care Pathway (Part 2): Qualitative Analysis of Experiences of Health Care Professionals
| Autor: | Alan Karthikesalingam, Gareth Jones, Trevor Back, Charles Merrick, Mary Emerson, Georgia Black, Rosalind Raine, Sarah Stanley, Dominic King, Geraint Rees, Alistair Connell, Jennifer Cross, Claire Nightingale, Kareem Ayoub, Hugh Montgomery, Cian Hughes, Chris Laing, Mustafa Suleyman, Peter Martin |
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| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2019 |
| Předmět: |
Male
Health Personnel nephrology 030232 urology & nephrology Health Informatics Tertiary referral hospital 03 medical and health sciences 0302 clinical medicine Qualitative analysis Nursing Health care Care pathway Humans 030212 general & internal medicine Qualitative Research Original Paper business.industry Resource constraints Workload Telemedicine Information overload acute kidney injury Female Thematic analysis business Psychology |
| Zdroj: | Journal of Medical Internet Research |
| ISSN: | 1438-8871 |
| Popis: | Background One reason for the introduction of digital technologies into health care has been to try to improve safety and patient outcomes by providing real-time access to patient data and enhancing communication among health care professionals. However, the adoption of such technologies into clinical pathways has been less examined, and the impacts on users and the broader health system are poorly understood. We sought to address this by studying the impacts of introducing a digitally enabled care pathway for patients with acute kidney injury (AKI) at a tertiary referral hospital in the United Kingdom. A dedicated clinical response team—comprising existing nephrology and patient-at-risk and resuscitation teams—received AKI alerts in real time via Streams, a mobile app. Here, we present a qualitative evaluation of the experiences of users and other health care professionals whose work was affected by the implementation of the care pathway. Objective The aim of this study was to qualitatively evaluate the impact of mobile results viewing and automated alerting as part of a digitally enabled care pathway on the working practices of users and their interprofessional relationships. Methods A total of 19 semistructured interviews were conducted with members of the AKI response team and clinicians with whom they interacted across the hospital. Interviews were analyzed using inductive and deductive thematic analysis. Results The digitally enabled care pathway improved access to patient information and expedited early specialist care. Opportunities were identified for more constructive planning of end-of-life care due to the earlier detection and alerting of deterioration. However, the shift toward early detection also highlighted resource constraints and some clinical uncertainty about the value of intervening at this stage. The real-time availability of information altered communication flows within and between clinical teams and across professional groups. Conclusions Digital technologies allow early detection of adverse events and of patients at risk of deterioration, with the potential to improve outcomes. They may also increase the efficiency of health care professionals’ working practices. However, when planning and implementing digital information innovations in health care, the following factors should also be considered: the provision of clinical training to effectively manage early detection, resources to cope with additional workload, support to manage perceived information overload, and the optimization of algorithms to minimize unnecessary alerts. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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