Objective: To explore the views of PD healthcare professionals on the use of e-PROMs.

Background: Assessment of motor AND non-motor symptoms are critical to the effective management of PD. Paper versions of PROMs have been used to assess patients, but have limited clinical use over longitudinal clinical care. Technology offers an efficient way to collect PROMs in hospitals. Involving clinicians in the development and implementation of e-PROMs could play a vital role in the successful application of such interventions.

Method: We conducted a mixed methods study in two phases with PD healthcare professionals. In phase I, PD nurse specialists (PDNS) from the UK completed an 18-point survey and the data were analysed using descriptive statistics. The data was used to design and focus phase II in which semi-structured interviews were undertaken. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research.

Results: 65 participants completed the Phase I survey, of whom 76.9% had used some form of PROMs in practice, although only 50.8% used them routinely. PROMS were utilised to varying degrees ranging from MDS-UPDRS at 23.5% to SCOPA-AUT at 1.2%. Respondents believed that e-PROMs would enhance data collection by facilitating its process (70.8%) and improving diagnostic and patient outcomes (52.3%). Although 76.9% of respondents were interested in using e-PROMs, 20.0% found using them time-consuming, and 7.7% thought it would make data collection process harder. Further concerns were additional workload (64.3%), impacting clinic workflow (53.6), and the availability of an electronic health record to link e-PROMs data to clinical notes and decision making (50.0%). 58.5% of respondents thought that e-PROMs would have an impact on communication between patients and clinicians. Phase II results still under analysis have identified additional benefits and challenges and potential avenues to address them.

Conclusion: Overall, perceptions relating to the future use of e-PROMs to support patient care were overwhelmingly positive. In fact, the potential benefits of the PROMs use in practice seemed to outweigh any minor concerns, however the use of PROMs is still remarkably low. Further work is ongoing to determine how PROM use could be facilitated for improved patient care.

« Back to 2019 International Congress

MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/use-of-e-proms-in-parkinsons-disease-clinics-a-qualitative-study-of-healthcare-professionals-perceptions/