An Integrated Care Platform System (C3-Cloud) for Care Planning, Decision Support, and Empowerment of Patients With Multimorbidity: Protocol for a Technology Trial (Preprint)

Abstract

<sec> <title>BACKGROUND</title> <p>There is an increasing need to organise the care around the patient and not the disease, as well as taking into account the complex realities of multiple physical, psycho-social conditions and polypharmacy. Integrated patient-centred care delivery platforms have been developed for both patients and clinicians. These platforms could provide a promising way to achieve a collaborative environment that improves the provision of integrated care for patients via enhanced ICT solutions.</p> </sec> <sec> <title>OBJECTIVE</title> <p>The C3-Cloud project has developed two collaborative computer platforms for patients and members of the Multi-Disciplinary Team and deployed these in three different European settings. The objective of this study is to pilot test the platforms and evaluate their impact on patients, informal caregivers, healthcare professionals and, in extend, healthcare systems.</p> </sec> <sec> <title>METHODS</title> <p>This paper describes the protocol for conducting an evaluation of the user-centred design, user experience, acceptability, and usefulness of the platforms. For this, four ‘testing and evaluation’ phases have been defined, involving multiple qualitative methods, and advanced impact modelling.</p> </sec> <sec> <title>RESULTS</title> <p>The technology trial in this 4-year funded project (2016-2020) is currently in its execution phase. The testing and evaluation phase 1 and 2 have been completed with satisfying results on system component tests, and promising results on application and usability tests. The pilot technology trial for evaluation phase 3 and 4 was launched in August 2019. Data collection for these phases is underway and results are forthcoming, approximately in April 2020. We believe that the phased, iterative approach taken is useful as it involves relevant stakeholders at crucial stages in the platform development and allows for a sound user acceptance assessment of the final product.</p> </sec> <sec> <title>CONCLUSIONS</title> <p>Patients with multiple chronic conditions often experience shortcomings in the care they receive. It is hoped that personalised care plan platforms for patients and collaboration platforms for members of Multi-Disciplinary Teams can help to tackle the specific challenges of clinical guideline reconciliation for multimorbid patients and improved the management of poly-pharmacy. The initial evaluative phases have indicated promising results of platform usability. The phased methodology has shown useful results in the first two phases, while results of phase 3 and 4 are pending.</p> </sec> <sec> <title>CLINICALTRIAL</title> <p>https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03834207</p> </sec>