Assessing the implementation of a clinical decision support tool in primary care for diabetes prevention: a qualitative interview study using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Science

Background In this paper we describe the use of the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) to study implementation of a web-based, point-of-care, EHR-linked clinical decision support (CDS) tool designed to identify and provide care recommendations for adults with prediabetes (Pre-D CDS). Methods As part of a large NIH-funded clinic-randomized trial, we identified a convenience sample of interview participants from 22 primary care clinics in Minnesota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin that were randomly allocated to receive or not receive a web-based EHR-integrated prediabetes CDS intervention. Participants included 11 clinicians, 6 rooming staff, and 7 nurse or clinic managers recruited by study staff to participate in telephone interviews conducted by an expert in qualitative methods. Interviews were recorded and transcribed, and data analysis was conducted using a constructivist version of grounded theory. Results Implementing a prediabetes CDS tool into primary care clinics was useful and well received. The intervention was integrated with clinic workflows, supported primary care clinicians in clearly communicating prediabetes risk and management options with patients, and in identifying actionable care opportunities. The main barriers to CDS use were time and competing priorities. Finally, while the implementation process worked well, opportunities remain in engaging the care team more broadly in CDS use. Conclusions The use of CDS tools for engaging patients and providers in care improvement opportunities for prediabetes is a promising and potentially effective strategy in primary care settings. A workflow that incorporates the whole care team in the use of such tools may optimize the implementation of CDS tools like these in primary care settings. Trial registration Name of the registry: Clinicaltrial.gov. Trial registration number: NCT02759055. Date of registration: 05/03/2016. URL of trial registry record: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02759055 Prospectively registered.

Barriers to and facilitators of the implementation of pharmacist services in primary care clinics: a scoping review protocol

IntroductionInappropriate medication use is a leading cause of avoidable harm in health systems and is particularly severe in primary care settings. Evidence has shown that the integration of pharmacists into primary care clinics has favourable satisfaction and effectiveness in health outcomes. However, barriers to and facilitators of pharmacist services in these settings have not been comprehensively reviewed. Therefore, this scoping review aims to map and examine the literature available on the barriers to and facilitators of the implementation of pharmacist services in primary care clinics to guide future implementation research.Methods and analysisThis scoping review will be undertaken following the six-stage framework developed by Arksey and O’Malley and be guided by recommendations by Levac et al. Eight electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, CINAHL, PsycINFO, CNKI and Wanfang) will be searched. Reference lists and related citations, and grey literature from websites will be searched manually. Available information that has been reported in Chinese or English up to 31 August 2021 will be included. Studies will be selected and screened by two reviewers independently. Findings from the included studies will be extracted by two independent reviewers and supervised by a third reviewer. A content analysis of the findings will be performed using MAXQDA 2020.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval will not be required for this scoping review, as all data and information will be obtained from publicly available literature. The findings of this scoping review will be shared with healthcare managers in primary care institutions and health authorities as well as disseminated via publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

‘Trying to fly the plane while we were building it’. Applying a learning health systems approach to evaluate early-stage barriers and facilitators to implementing primary care transformation: a qualitative study

ObjectiveA learning health system (LHS) uses data to generate evidence and answer questions required to continually improve system performance and patient care. Given the complexities of practice transformation, an area where LHS is particularly important is the study of primary care transformation (PCT) as PCT generates several practice-level questions that require study where the findings can be readily implemented. In May 2019, a large integrated health delivery system in Minnesota began implementation of a population management PCT in two of its 40 primary care clinics. In this model of care, patients are grouped into one of five service bundles based on their complexity of care; patient appointment lengths and services provided are then tailored to each service bundle. The objective of this study was to examine the use of a LHS in PCT by utilising the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) to categorise implementation lessons from the initial two PCT clinics to inform further implementation of the PCT within the health system.DesignThis was a formative evaluation in which semistructured qualitative interviews were carried out. Observational field notes were also taken. Inductive coding of the data was performed and resultant codes were mapped to the CFIR.SettingTwo suburban primary care clinics in the Twin Cities, Minnesota.ParticipantsTwenty-two care team members from the first two clinics to adopt the PCT.ResultsSeventeen codes emerged to describe care team members’ perceived implementation influences. Codes occurred in each of the five CFIR domains (intervention characteristics, outer setting, inner setting, characteristics of individuals and process), with most codes occurring in the ‘inner setting’ domain.ConclusionsUsing an LHS approach to determine early-stage implementation influences is key to guiding further PCT implementation, understanding modifications that need to be made and additional research that needs to occur.

Early Implementation and Evaluation of a Teledermatology Virtual Clinic Within an Academic Medical Center

Background Teledermatology can increase patient access; however, its optimal implementation remains unknown. Objective This study aimed to describe and evaluate the implementation of a pilot virtual clinic teledermatology service at Duke University. Methods Leaders at Duke Dermatology and Duke Primary Care identified a teledermatology virtual clinic to meet patients’ access needs. Implementation was planned over the exploration, preparation, implementation, and sustainment phases. We evaluated the implementation success of teledermatology using the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance framework and prioritized outcome collection through a stakeholder survey. We used the electronic health record and patient surveys to capture implementation outcomes. Results Our process consisted of primary care providers (PCPs) who sent clinical and dermatoscopic images of patient lesions or rashes via e-communication to a teledermatology virtual clinic, with a subsequent virtual clinic scheduling of a video visit with the virtual clinic providers (residents or advanced practice providers, supervised by Duke Dermatology attending physicians) within 2-5 days. The teledermatology team reviews the patient images on the day of the video visit and gives their diagnosis and management plan with either no follow-up, teledermatology nurse follow-up, or in-person follow-up evaluation. Implementation at 4 pilot clinics, involving 19 referring PCPs and 5 attending dermatologists, began on September 9, 2021. As of October 31, 2021, a total of 68 e-communications were placed (50 lesions and 18 rashes) and 64 virtual clinic video visits were completed. There were 3 patient refusals and 1 conversion to a telephonic visit. Participating primary care clinics differed in the number of patients referred with completed visits (range 2-32) and the percentage of providers using e-communications (range 13%-53%). Patients were seen soon after e-communication placement; compared to in-person wait times of >3 months, the teledermatology virtual clinic video visits occurred on average 2.75 days after e-communication. In total, 20% of virtual clinic video visits were seen as in-person visit follow-up, which suggests that the majority of patients were deemed treatable at the virtual clinic. All patients who returned the patient survey (N=10, 100%) agreed that their clinical goals were met during the virtual clinic video visits. Conclusions Our virtual clinic model for teledermatology implementation resulted in timely access for patients, while minimizing loss to follow-up, and has promising patient satisfaction outcomes. However, participating primary care clinics differ in their volume of referrals to the virtual clinic. As the teledermatology virtual clinics scale to other clinic sites, a systematic assessment of barriers and facilitators to its implementation may explain these interclinic differences. Acknowledgments We are grateful to the Private Diagnostic Clinic and Duke Institute for Health Innovation for their support. Conflicts of Interest None declared.

A randomized controlled study of biochemical tests in primary care: interventions can reduce the number of tests but usage does not become more appropriate

Objectives The use of laboratory tests increases worldwide, and to some extent their use is likely to be inappropriate. Although primary care is responsible for a substantial proportion of requests, this sector is less extensively investigated than hospitals. Methods We tested the effect of six combinations of four interventions applied to 313 primary care clinics, using vitamin D as model test (253,762 vitamin D results). We evaluated the changes in test numbers in the six intervention groups compared to the control group, and whether interventions resulted in more homogenous test use within groups or affected the distribution of test results. All interventions included information on vitamin D testing guidelines. Four groups were exposed to a non-interruptive alert in the ordering IT-system and in two groups this was supplemented by an interruptive alert. Half of the groups received monthly feedback reports. Results Application of alerts, irrespective of the combination with feedback reports, resulted in significantly reduced test numbers (maximum −46%). Guidelines either alone or combined with feedback reports did not cause significant difference from the control group. The within-group requesting pattern changed significantly for only two of the groups. The distribution of low and normal vitamin D results within groups showed no signs of more appropriate use of the test in any of the groups. Conclusions Some of the interventions reduced the number of tests, but there were no indications of improved adherence to the guidelines. The interventions may have led to under-utilization of the test and thus should be used with care.

Early Implementation and Evaluation of a Teledermatology Virtual Clinic Within an Academic Medical Center (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Teledermatology can increase patient access; however, its optimal implementation remains unknown. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to describe and evaluate the implementation of a pilot virtual clinic teledermatology service at Duke University. METHODS Leaders at Duke Dermatology and Duke Primary Care identified a teledermatology virtual clinic to meet patients’ access needs. Implementation was planned over the exploration, preparation, implementation, and sustainment phases. We evaluated the implementation success of teledermatology using the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance framework and prioritized outcome collection through a stakeholder survey. We used the electronic health record and patient surveys to capture implementation outcomes. RESULTS Our process consisted of primary care providers (PCPs) who sent clinical and dermatoscopic images of patient lesions or rashes via e-communication to a teledermatology virtual clinic, with a subsequent virtual clinic scheduling of a video visit with the virtual clinic providers (residents or advanced practice providers, supervised by Duke Dermatology attending physicians) within 2-5 days. The teledermatology team reviews the patient images on the day of the video visit and gives their diagnosis and management plan with either no follow-up, teledermatology nurse follow-up, or in-person follow-up evaluation. Implementation at 4 pilot clinics, involving 19 referring PCPs and 5 attending dermatologists, began on September 9, 2021. As of October 31, 2021, a total of 68 e-communications were placed (50 lesions and 18 rashes) and 64 virtual clinic video visits were completed. There were 3 patient refusals and 1 conversion to a telephonic visit. Participating primary care clinics differed in the number of patients referred with completed visits (range 2-32) and the percentage of providers using e-communications (range 13%-53%). Patients were seen soon after e-communication placement; compared to in-person wait times of >3 months, the teledermatology virtual clinic video visits occurred on average 2.75 days after e-communication. In total, 20% of virtual clinic video visits were seen as in-person visit follow-up, which suggests that the majority of patients were deemed treatable at the virtual clinic. All patients who returned the patient survey (N=10, 100%) agreed that their clinical goals were met during the virtual clinic video visits. CONCLUSIONS Our virtual clinic model for teledermatology implementation resulted in timely access for patients, while minimizing loss to follow-up, and has promising patient satisfaction outcomes. However, participating primary care clinics differ in their volume of referrals to the virtual clinic. As the teledermatology virtual clinics scale to other clinic sites, a systematic assessment of barriers and facilitators to its implementation may explain these interclinic differences.

Who Needs Diabetes Education? A Qualitative Analysis of Emerging Adults With Type 1 Diabetes

Background The purpose of this study is to explore the diabetes self-management education (DSME) needs of emerging adults with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) because addressing these needs may facilitate optimal glycemic management during this challenging transitional period. Methods A hybrid qualitative design was utilized. Emerging adults and parents of emerging adults were recruited from endocrinology and primary care clinics and through a Utah-specific T1DM online community. Interviews were conducted to asses needs to achieve target A1C. Data were interpreted thematically. Results Emerging adults with T1DM (N = 33) and parents of emerging adults with T1DM (N = 17) were interviewed. Three main themes emerged: (1) mixed desire for personal DSME; (2) I don’t need the education, others do; and (3) health care provider (HCP) attributes that make a difference. Associated subthemes were reported. Conclusions Emerging adults reported that further education for themselves was not needed, although newly diagnosed individuals would benefit from increased training in diabetes management. Although many emerging adults had a supportive social network, they endorsed the need for greater public education to avoid diabetes misinformation. Emerging adults felt more connected with HCPs that had diabetes-specific training (ie, endocrinologist) or those who personally live with T1DM.

CATCH-ON Connect: A Program to Increase Technology Access Among Older Adults During COVID-19

During the COVID-19 pandemic, technology became an essential tool to maintain connections to social support, health professionals, and services. However, many older adults do not have access to technology or do not feel comfortable using it. CATCH-ON Connect provides cellular-enabled tablets and individual, personalized technical assistance to older adults. Adults age 65+ in project partner primary care clinics who do not have an internet-ready device or who lack digital literacy are eligible to participate. Older adults learn how to access their electronic health record portal, use pre-installed apps (e.g., Lyft, Zoom), and receive education about COVID-19 and the 4Ms. Of the 40 participants enrolled to date, 46% have never accessed the internet with a tablet or smartphone. Initial qualitative outcomes indicate high satisfaction and increased electronic socialization. Quantitative results of participant technology challenges, loneliness, and utilization of telehealth services will be discussed.