Translating Scientific Evidence Into Practice Using Digital Medicine and Electronic Patient Reported Outcomes

Delivery of healthcare has been traditionally limited to in-person visits or hospitalizations, while patients spend the majority of their time at home or work. Digital Medicine (e.g. apps, remote monitoring, telemedicine, patient reported outcomes) has the potential to bridge this gap, but the question remains as to how to translate it to mainstream practice while providing individualized recommendations to improve population health across organizations. Through the creation of a Digital Transformation Network (DTN) for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), the study team plans to reduce digital disparities and scientifically test the impact of these technologies in a clinical trial in three CTSA sites catering to diverse populations and communities.

Delivery of healthcare has been traditionally limited to in-person office visits or hospitalizations, while patients spent the majority of their time at home or work. Digital Medicine (e.g. apps, remote monitoring, telemedicine, patient reported outcomes ePRO has the potential to bridge this gap, but it is unclear how to implement in a mainstream clinical practice that can lead to high-level patient and provider adoption. Through the creation of a Digital Transformation Network (DTN) for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), the study team plans to reduce digital disparities and scientifically address the evidence gap of digital health interventions across populations and communities.

AIM I. Unify existing digital assets (mobile app, ePROs, assessment for digital disparities and behavioral health, referral to IBD home and health education) into an IBD Digital Therapeutics Toolkit and integrate with EHRs at 3 CTSA hubs. Hypothesis: Integration with EHRs will lead to higher adoption by providers and limit disruption of workflow.

AIM II: Establish baseline levels of digital connectivity, disease control, quality of life and care metrics in cohorts at the three IBD centers. Hypothesis: A multipronged approach of assessment through text, phone, an app, and in-person will yield higher adoption.

AIM III. Implement and evaluate precision-matched interventions (digital skills, social determinants, behavioral health, monitoring through apps, and referral to interdisciplinary care) among 1500 patients with IBD using a stepped-wedge, cluster- randomized trial. Hypothesis: Medical homes supported by a unified platform will translate to sustainable improvement in population health outcomes. Analyze the Impact of DTN interventions. The primary outcome will be the improvement of the percentage of patients in DTN in disease control and decrease in urgent care utilization (emergency department visits and hospitalization days) across the three CTSA sites.

AIM IV. Support sustainability and dissemination across CTSA sites. Hypothesis: The patient- centric DTN will be sustainable through alignment with value-based healthcare.

Anticipated Impact: About 2 million Americans suffer from IBD and many more with chronic inflammatory diseases. The study team hopes that this study will help the study team build an evidence-based approach to determine whether digital medicine can engage a diverse group of patients and improve outcomes; and if yes, how it can be reproduced and replicated across different settings to address theT3 and T4 translational gaps.