IMPROVING THE UPTAKE OF ELECTRONIC PATIENT REPORTED OUTCOME MEASURES IN A SPECIALISED AXIAL SPONDYLOARTHROPATHY CLINIC

ABSTRACT

BackgroundSheffield Teaching Hospitals (STH), UK, has a specialised axial spondyloarthropathy (axSpa) clinic run by a rheumatology consultant and physiotherapist with special interest in this area. BASDAI and BASFI patient reported outcome measures are used to assess disease activity and response to treatment, in line with national guidelines. STH has invested in MyPathway (MP), an electronic patient messaging system used for patient information, appointments and electronic patient reported outcome measures (ePROMs). The data can also be viewed at a system level on a clinician dashboard. Prior to 2020 the uptake of ePROMs was low in the axSpa clinic. The move primarily to telephone consultations in March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, created an opportunity for increasing the use of MP for ePROMs collection to enable improved remote monitoring of patients with axSpa.ObjectivesThis quality improvement project aimed to increase the use of electronic BASDAI and BASFI (ePROMs) in the axSpa clinic.MethodsA multi-pronged approach has been taken since March 2020 to increase ePROMs completion and improve their use. Each appointment was used as an opportunity to discuss and recruit patients to MP. Clinicians invited each patient to join MP and sent them a link after their appointment. QR codes were then added to all rheumatology patient letters encouraging patients to register. A pathway was set up that automatically sent a prompt to patients registered on MP to complete their BASDAI and BASFI questionnaires prior to clinic appointments. Clinicians began logging into MP to view scores during appointments to provide patients with real-time feedback.A mixed methods approach was used to assess the uptake of ePROMs over time. We tracked MP registration rates and BASDAI completion rates as the key outcome measures, using a run chart to assess special cause variation. We undertook a patient focus group to explore attitudes towards ePROMs, key barriers and opportunities for further improvement.ResultsThe total number of axSpa patients seen in the specialised clinic (named LADAS) who have registered with MP has increased from 56 (35.9%) in January 2019 to 200 (58.9%) in September 2022. There has been an improvement in the BASDAI completion rate, with 80% of patients completing more than one BASDAI in 2022, compared to 24% in 2019, as illustrated on a run chart (Figure 1). Patients can complete BASDAI forms sent to them in a previous month, therefore the completion rate some months exceeds 100%.In a dedicated focus group, patients reported that ePROMs were generally more convenient, and provided a useful record to refer back to. This could be further improved by development of a graph function to view scores over-time and the ability for patients to complete a questionnaire between appointments when they feel their disease is more active. A key theme for improving the use of ePROMs was the need for more discussion about their utility and around individual patient's scores. There is concern that the BASDAI and BASFI scores are arbitrary and lack nuance, and that the importance of these scores at an individual patient level is not clear. This may be rectified by more discussion with clinicians in appointments, to add meaning to these scores. There was also concern that sleep and other generic health measures are not covered in the BASDAI or BASFI. The EQ-5D, a generic questionnaire, is also sent to axSpa patients, but there seems to be a lack of patient awareness regarding it. There is an appetite to improve and standardise the amount of patient information accessible on MP, for example disease information and links to patient support groups.ConclusionThere has been a clear improvement in the completion of ePROMs in the dedicated axSpa clinic at STH, over the last three years. Patient feedback has highlighted key areas for further improvement to maximise the potential of ePROMs, including more discussion around PROM scores to increase understanding and add individual patient meaning and nuance.Figure 1.AcknowledgementsI have no acknowledgements to declare.Disclosure of InterestsJudith Jade None declared, Zoe Cox None declared, Emily Fox None declared, Rachel Tattersall Speakers bureau honoraria as speaker for Abbvie, Lisa Dunkley Speakers bureau honoraria as speaker/ teaching for UCB/ Abbvie/ Pfizer.