An Electronic Health Record–Integrated Application for Standardizing Care and Monitoring Patients With Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease Enrolled in a Tolvaptan Clinic: Design and Implementation Study

Abstract

Background Tolvaptan is the only US Food and Drug Administration–approved drug to slow the progression of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD), but it requires strict clinical monitoring due to potential serious adverse events. Objective We aimed to share our experience in developing and implementing an electronic health record (EHR)–based application to monitor patients with ADPKD who were initiated on tolvaptan. Methods The application was developed in collaboration with clinical informatics professionals based on our clinical protocol with frequent laboratory test monitoring to detect early drug-related toxicity. The application streamlined the clinical workflow and enabled our nursing team to take appropriate actions in real time to prevent drug-related serious adverse events. We retrospectively analyzed the characteristics of the enrolled patients. Results As of September 2022, a total of 214 patients were enrolled in the tolvaptan program across all Mayo Clinic sites. Of these, 126 were enrolled in the Tolvaptan Monitoring Registry application and 88 in the Past Tolvaptan Patients application. The mean age at enrollment was 43.1 (SD 9.9) years. A total of 20 (9.3%) patients developed liver toxicity, but only 5 (2.3%) had to discontinue the drug. The 2 EHR-based applications allowed consolidation of all necessary patient information and real-time data management at the individual or population level. This approach facilitated efficient staff workflow, monitoring of drug-related adverse events, and timely prescription renewal. Conclusions Our study highlights the feasibility of integrating digital applications into the EHR workflow to facilitate efficient and safe care delivery for patients enrolled in a tolvaptan program. This workflow needs further validation but could be extended to other health care systems managing chronic diseases requiring drug monitoring.