Exploring Clinician Experiences With a Digital Platform Supporting Orthopedic Care That Integrates Patient-Generated Health Data: Qualitative Study of Early Users.

Background: Digital care platforms that integrate patient-generated health data (PGHD) alongside education and communication tools have been recognized as potential instruments in transforming health care from clinician-centered to a more patient-centered approach. This transformation is driven by the potential of PGHD to provide deeper insights into patients' conditions, facilitate personalized care, improve patient quality of life, reduce inefficiencies in data collection, and empower patients. Yet, actual implementation within clinical settings is still at early stages; therefore, impacts on clinical care remain limited.

Objective: This study sought to explore the benefits, challenges, and opportunities of integrating PGHD into orthopedic care by analyzing the reflections of early adopter surgeons and physiotherapists who have used a digital care management platform.

Methods: This qualitative study used thematic analysis of interviews conducted with surgeons and physiotherapists (n=9) from a clinical unit that was among the first to trial "mymobility," an industry-produced software platform (Zimmer Biomet). The participants were recruited using snowball sampling, and interviews were conducted from June to July 2022. The interviews focused on work practices, use of digital tools, experiences with PGHD, and experiences with the mymobility software. Thematic analysis was conducted using NVivo software (QSR International Pty Ltd), focusing on identifying key themes and insights.

Results: The study identified several benefits of integrating PGHD into orthopedic care, including improved patient education, enhanced communication and assessment, and increased patient motivation and adherence. However, several challenges were also noted, such as increased clinician workload, questionable data utility, lack of patient centricity, and inability to tailor software to clinical contexts. Suggested opportunities included improving dashboard design, personalizing physiotherapy, and using collected data for improving clinical care.

Conclusions: The integration of PGHD into orthopedic care shows promise, largely in areas suggested by the literature. However, significant challenges remain. Future research should focus on addressing solvable challenges, such as improving software user interface design and functionality, while embracing the possibility that some challenges lack clear solutions and will likely require careful balancing of design tensions. The findings highlight the need for ongoing development and refinement of PGHD-inclusive systems to better support clinical practice and patient outcomes.