Development of a digital tool to support overview in complex patient cases: Which information elements support the clinical workflow?

Abstract Aim This study aimed to describe the development and usability testing of the digital tool DigiTeam to support physicians’ clinical workflow and identify key information elements to support clinicians in managing complex patient cases. Method This qualitative study was guided by user-centered principles with observations and interviews of physicians who tested different versions of DigiTeam. Three patients volunteered to have their full electronic health records (EHR) from the following sources: general practice, hospital, and, if relevant, municipal health and social care services, included in DigiTeam. The prototype was developed to gain knowledge on how to present complex patient case information in EHR. The key clinical principles guiding the development were to support person-centered, integrated, and proactive care. The design principles included providing overviews before details, summarizing information, and using timelines. The data were continuously analyzed to support iterative development. Results Seventeen physicians participated, and five versions were developed. The start page was simplified and at the end included only three key information elements that supported a quick overview: patient voice, medical history summary, and main health problems with healthcare contacts displayed on a timeline. The participants highly valued the prominent inclusion of the patient’s voice, which was maintained throughout. The elements on the start page were clickable, directed to pages with summarized information, and hyperlinks to clinical notes for further details and verification of the summarized information. The participants found the summarized information valuable but initially too text-heavy, resulting in versions with less text while retaining essential details. Conclusion It was possible to develop a digital tool that supported person-centered, integrated, and proactive care by summarizing information to provide an overview of three main information elements: what matters to the patient, the main health problems, and medical history, with easy ways to obtain more detailed information. The next step is to test the effect of DigiTeam in a randomized controlled trial. Clinical trial number Not applicable.