Objectives/Goals: Current techniques for immunosuppressant therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) are not patient-centric which is prohibitive for those in remote areas. We conducted stakeholder engagement meetings to identify context, attitudes, design requirements, and potential unintended consequences for developing an at-home test for immunosuppressant TDM. Methods/Study Population: We conducted two virtual focus group discussions with 10 organ transplant recipients, some of whom were located in rural and remote locations, including members of the community engagement committee of the Center for Innovations in Cancer & Transplant and the Transplant Recipient Advisory Council. We also conducted a virtual focus group discussion with transplant providers and had individual conversations with one provider and one patient who were unable to attend the focus groups. Results/Anticipated Results: Patients had strong interest in at-home testing to reduce financial and time burdens. Providers wanted faster test turnaround times than available with current centralized labs, especially for managing patients in remote settings. Both patients and providers agreed that at-home tests could enhance patient engagement and empowerment in healthcare, and they preferred a device that would provide highly quantitative and accurate results available on the same day. Finally, both patients and providers also expressed concerns about potential increased work created for caregivers and healthcare workers. Discussion/Significance of Impact: We will incorporate these findings into our design engineering and continue iterative stakeholder engagement to co-design a device that can transform TDM and transplant care.
Leong et al. (2026) studied this question.