A digital patient-reported outcome (electronic patient-reported outcome) system for patients with severe psychiatric disorders: User-centered development study and study protocol of a multicenter-controlled trial

BackgroundThe effective treatment of patients with severe psychiatric disorders primarily relies on subjective reporting of symptoms and side-effects. This information is crucial for a clinician's decision regarding medication adjustment. Treatment adjustment usually happens at a low frequency (similar to 4-8 weeks). In between points of care, patients are left alone with their symptoms and side-effects. This leads to uncertainty regarding the treatment, non-adherence, possible relapse, and rehospitalization.ObjectivesWe aim to design a flexible electronic patient-reported outcome (ePRO) system, which allows patients with severe psychiatric disorders to: (a) record their symptoms using an app; (b) share the data with the clinical team at points of care; and (c) utilize the data to support therapy decisions.MethodsIn this article, we describe the development process which included the following steps: (a) formation of a co-design team; (b) stakeholder interviews with patients, practitioners, and digital health experts to access needs, requirements, and barriers; (c) prototype conceptualization and design; (d) user acceptance testing and refinement; and (e) finalization of the system for testing in a pilottrial.ResultsWe included input from patients with lived experience of psychiatric disorders, clinical team members, software engineers, and researchers. A prototype system was refined, and iterative changes were made before finalization during a series of operational meetings. The system allows patients to digitally self-report their symptoms and provides longitudinal ePRO symptom data for export into the electronic health record.ConclusionsRoutine ePRO collection has the potential to improve outcomes and hereby also reduce health service costs. We have successfully developed a trial-ready ePRO system for severe psychiatric disorders. The findings were incorporated in the planning of a feasibility pilot trial. Assuming feasibility will be established, the system might be subjected to a certification process evaluation of safety and efficacy including a randomized controlled trial.