Design and Evaluation of the Electronic Patient-Generated Index.
Susan S Tavernier, Susan L Beck
PMID 31688339WHAT IT FOUND
Patients completed an electronic quality-of-life index in under 30 seconds, but few shared it with clinicians unless they initiated the conversation themselves.
Clinicians saw potential for symptom management but feared workflow disruption and struggled to interpret non-medical patient responses.
Key findings
01Patients completed the electronic index quickly, requiring less than 30 seconds or no coaching.
02Clinicians identified lack of time and patient flow disruption as significant barriers to using patient-reported outcomes.
03Clinicians were often perplexed by patient responses that did not relate to medical treatment, such as listing a pet as most important.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study was a pilot with a very small sample size (15 patients, 8 clinicians), limiting generalizability. Only descriptive statistics were reported due to the small sample size. Participants were recruited from a single outpatient radiation department. The study did not test the impact of the ePGI on clinical outcomes or patient health, only its usability and acceptability.
Declared interests
No specific conflicts of interest or funding sources are detailed in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that implementing this electronic tool will automatically improve patient-clinician communication about quality of life. The study found that patients rarely shared the results unless they initiated it themselves, and clinicians often felt unsure how to respond to non-medical patient priorities.