Practice-centred evaluation and the privileging of care in health information technology evaluation

REVISITING HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ETHICAL, LEGAL, and SOCIAL ISSUES and EVALUATION: TELEHEALTH/TELEMEDICINE and COVID-19

BACKGROUND

Information technologies have been vital during the COVID-19 pandemic. Telehealth and telemedicine services, especially, fulfilled their promise by allowing patients to receive advice and care at a distance, making it safer for all concerned. Over the preceding years, professional societies, governments, and scholars examined ethical, legal, and social issues (ELSI) related to telemedicine and telehealth. Primary concerns evident from reviewing this literature have been quality of care, access, consent, and privacy.

OBJECTIVES

To identify and summarize ethical, legal, and social issues related to information technology in healthcare, as exemplified by telehealth and telemedicine. To expand on prior analyses and address gaps illuminated by the COVID-19 experience. To propose future research directions.

METHODS

Literature was identified through searches, forward and backward citation chaining, and the author's knowledge of scholars and works in the area. EU and professional organizations' guidelines, and nineteen scholarly papers were examined and categories created to identify ethical, legal, and social issues they addressed. A synthesis matrix was developed to categorize issues addressed by each source.

RESULTS

A synthesis matrix was developed and issues categorized as: quality of care, consent and autonomy, access to care and technology, legal and regulatory, clinician responsibilities, patient responsibilities, changed relationships, commercialization, policy, information needs, and evaluation, with subcategories that fleshed out each category. The literature primarily addressed quality of care, access, consent, and privacy. Other identified considerations were little discussed. These and newer concerns include: usability, tailoring services to each patient, curriculum and training, implementation, commercialization, and licensing and liability. The need for interoperability, data availability, cybersecurity, and informatics infrastructure also is more apparent. These issues are applicable to other information technologies in healthcare.

CONCLUSIONS

Clinicians and organizations need updated guidelines for ethical use of telemedicine and telehealth care, and decision- and policy-makers need evidence to inform decisions. The variety of newly implemented telemedicine services is an on-going natural experiment presenting an unparalleled opportunity to develop an evidence-based way forward. The paper recommends evaluation using an applied ethics, context-sensitive approach that explores interactions among multiple factors and considerations. It suggests evaluation questions to investigate ethical, social, and legal issues through multi-method, sociotechnical, interpretive and ethnographic, and interactionist evaluation approaches. Such evaluation can help telehealth, and other information technologies, be integrated into healthcare ethically and effectively.

Evaluating health information technologies: A systematic review of framework recommendations

OBJECTIVE

Evaluating Health Information Technologies (HITs) can be challenging, but studies are necessary so that the most beneficial interventions can be identified. Our objective was to systematically review the available recommendations for improving the methods used in HIT evaluations.

METHODS

HIT evaluation frameworks were identified from database (MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL) and grey literature searches. Outcome measures included framework recommendations and characteristics. Recommendations were coded and organised using thematic analysis methods. A scoring instrument was used to measure framework quality.

RESULTS

The search identified 23 frameworks and 272 recommendations. These were organised into five evaluation domains and 42 themes. The themes included recommendations for improving the evaluation of technical aspects of HITs (e.g. describing aspects of HIT functionality) and suggestions for improving the evaluation of complex factors that may influence the overall effects of HITs (e.g. careful reporting of whether the HIT became integrated into existing working patterns). The frameworks were not generally developed in association with healthcare professionals, or with input from patients. The frameworks tended not to have been developed using systematic methods designed to reduce the risk of bias.

DISCUSSION

HIT evaluations are important but they are challenging to conduct and appraise. This review was conducted using systematic methods enabling the organisation of framework recommendations into key themes. These findings may help investigators to successfully plan, conduct and appraise HIT evaluations. The quality appraisal demonstrated that HIT evaluation research may be improved by using more systematic methods and the involvement of participants from a range of differing backgrounds.

Understanding the Value of Patientview for Enabling Self-Care Practice in Chronic Kidney Disease

BACKGROUND

Individual responsibility and self-care are seen as ways to overcome some of the challenges for long-term health care provision. Patients are being encouraged to take an active role in their health care. Access to health information via a web-based, patient-facing portal is an innovative way to engage in self-care. PatientView is one such portal, which was developed to allow patients with kidney disease access to parts of their health record. It was thought that the use of PatientView would improve self-care activity but there was little evidence to support this claim.

OBJECTIVE

To gain an understanding of how patients with kidney disease use PatientView in their self-care practice.

PARTICIPANTS

Six users and four non-users of PatientView.

DESIGN

Qualitative, semi-structured interviews and participant observation.

APPROACH

A practice-based approach was used to collect qualitative data to better understand how patients use PatientView in daily life to enable self-care. Participants were invited to "show the researcher" how they use PatientView and to describe how they translated the information into actions of self-care. Inductive analysis was used to identify themes.

RESULTS

The analysis identified four key themes, which were non-linear inter-related. Patients engage with PatientView because it supports ways of knowing that are of direct importance to self-care activity. Patients interact with PatientView and translate the information they gain from using it into actions that support self-care. A consequence of engaging with PatientView is that patients can involve their family more in their care and this helps to reduce the burden on health care professionals.

CONCLUSION

Patient interactions with PatientView are inter-related, multi-dimensional and differ according to the individual's positioning within a continuum of care. Nonetheless, these interactions can be captured and doing so provides a basis for understanding of how patients create and sustain opportunities for care through information technology.

Development of an mHealth platform for HIV Care: Gathering User Perspectives Through Co-Design Workshops and Interviews

Background

Despite advances in testing and treatment, HIV incidence rates within European countries are at best stable or else increasing. mHealth technology has been advocated to increase quality and cost-effectiveness of health services while dealing with growing patient numbers. However, studies suggested that mHealth apps are rarely adopted and often considered to be of low quality by users. Only a few studies (conducted in the United States) have involved people living with HIV (PLWH) in the design of mHealth.

Objective

The goal of this study was to facilitate a co-design process among PLWH and clinicians across 5 clinical sites in the European Union to inform the development of an mHealth platform to be integrated into clinical care pathways. We aimed to (1) elicit experiences of living with HIV and of working in HIV care, (2) identify mHealth functionalities that are considered useful for HIV care, and (3) identify potential benefits as well as concerns about mHealth.

Methods

Between January and June 2016, 14 co-design workshops and 22 semistructured interviews were conducted, involving 97 PLWH and 63 clinicians. Data were analyzed thematically and iteratively, drawing on grounded theory techniques.

Results

Findings were established into 3 thematic clusters: (1) approaching the mHealth platform, (2) imagining the mHealth platform, and (3) anticipating the mHealth platform’s implications. Co-design participants approached the mHealth platform with pre-existing concerns arising from their experiences of receiving or providing care. PLWH particularly addressed issues of stigma and questioned how mHealth could enable them to manage their HIV. Clinicians problematized the compatibility of mHealth with existing information technology systems and questioned which patients should be targeted by mHealth. Imagining the potential of mHealth for HIV care, co-design participants suggested medical functionalities (accessing test results, managing medicines and appointments, and digital communication channels), social functionalities (peer support network, international travel, etc), and general features (security and privacy, credibility, language, etc). Co-design participants also anticipated potential implications of mHealth for self-management and the provision of care.

Conclusions

Our approach to co-design enabled us to facilitate early engagement in the mHealth platform, enabling patient and clinician feedback to become embedded in the development process at a preprototype phase. Although the technologies in question were not yet present, understanding how users approach, imagine, and anticipate technology formed an important source of knowledge and proved highly significant within the technology design and development process.

Discussion of “Evidence-based Health Informatics: How Do We Know What We Know?”

This article is part of a For-Discussion-Section of Methods of Information in Medicine about the paper “Evidence-based Health Informatics: How Do We Know What We Know?” written by Elske Ammenwerth [1]. It is introduced by an editorial. This article contains the combined commentaries invited to independently comment on the Ammenwerth paper. In subsequent issues the discussion can continue through letters to the editor.

With these comments on the paper “Evidence-based Health Informatics: How do we know what we know?”, written by Elske Ammenwerth [1], the journal seeks to stimulate a broad discussion on the challenges of evaluating information processing and information technology in health care. An international group of experts has been invited by the editor of Methods to comment on this paper. Each of the invited commentaries forms one section of this paper.

Requirements and access needs of patients with chronic disease to their hospital electronic health record: results of a cross-sectional questionnaire survey

OBJECTIVES

To identify patient's views on the functionality required for personalised access to the secondary care electronic health record (EHR) and their priorities for development.

DESIGN

Quantitative analysis of a cross-sectional self-complete survey of patient views on required EHR functionality from a secondary care EHR, including a patient ranking of functionality.

SETTING

Secondary care patients attending a regional cystic fibrosis unit in the north of England.

PARTICIPANTS

201 adults (106 (52.7%) males), median age 29 years (range 17-58 years), entered and completed the study. Inclusion criteria are as follows: a confirmed diagnosis of cystic fibrosis, aged 16 years and over, at the time of clinical stability.

OUTCOME MEASURES

Quantitative responses within 4 themes; (1) value placed on aspects of the EHR; (2) access requirements to functions of the EHR; (3) views on information sent to the EHR and (4) patient feedback entered into the EHR. A ranked score for 15 functions of the EHR was obtained.

RESULTS

Highest ratings (% reporting item as very important/important) were reported for access to clinical measures (lung function (94%), C reactive protein (84%), sputum microbiology (81%) and blood results (80%)), medication changes (82%) and lists (83%) and sending repeat prescription (83%) and treatment requests (80%), while sending symptom diaries was less so (62%). Email contact with clinicians was the most valuable communication element of the EHR (84% very important/important). Of 15 features of the EHR (1=most desirable to 15=least desirable), patients identified 'clinical measures' (2.62 (CI 2.07 to 3.06)), and 'access to medication lists' (4.91 (CI 4.47 to 5.44)), as highest priority for development and the ability to comment on errors/omissions (11.0 (CI 10.6 to 11.5)) or experience of care (11.8 (CI 11.4 to 12.2)) as lowest.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients want extensive personal access to their hospital EHR, placing high importance on the viewing of practical clinical measures and medication management. These influence routine day-to-day care and are priorities for development.

Knowledge and attitudes of doctors towards e-health use in healthcare delivery in government and private hospitals in Northern Uganda: a cross-sectional study

Background

E-health is an essential information sharing tool in healthcare management and delivery worldwide. However, utilization of e-health may only be possible if healthcare professionals have positive attitudes towards e-health. This study aimed to determine the relationships between healthcare professionals’ attitudes towards e-health, level of ICT skills and e-Health use in healthcare delivery in government and private hospitals in northern Uganda.

Methods

Cross-sectional survey design was used. Sixty-eight medical doctors in three government hospitals and four private hospitals in Northern Uganda participated in the study. A pretested self-administered questionnaire was used to collect the required data. Data was analysed using SPSS software Version 19.

Results

Out of the 68 respondents, 39 (57.4 %) reported access to computer and 29 (48.5 %) accessed Internet in the workplace. Majority of healthcare professionals had positive attitudes towards e-health attributes (mean 3.5). The level of skills was moderate (mean 3.66), and was the most important and significant predictor of ICT use among healthcare professionals (r = .522, p < .001); however, attitudes towards e-health attributes did not contribute significantly in predicting e-health use.

Conclusions

The findings suggest need for hospitals managements to strengthen e-health services in healthcare delivery in Northern Uganda.