Feasibility of implementing patient-reported outcome measures into routine breast cancer care delivery using a novel collection and reporting platform

Objectives imPROVE is a new Health Information Technology platform that enables systematic patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) collection through a mobile phone application. The purpose of this study is to describe our initial experience and approach to implementing imPROVE among breast cancer patients treated in breast and plastic surgery clinics.Materials and Methods We describe our initial implementation in 4 phases between June 2021 and February 2022: preimplementation, followed by 3 consecutive implementation periods (P1, P2, P3). The Standards for Reporting Implementation Studies statement guided this study. Iterative Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles supported implementation, and success was evaluated using the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance framework.Results Qualitative interviews conducted during the preimplementation phase elicited 4 perceived implementation barriers. Further feedback collected during each phase of implementation resulted in the development of brochures, posters in clinic spaces, and scripts for clinic staff to streamline discussions with patients, and the resolution of technical issues concerning patient login capabilities, such as compatibility with cell phone software and barriers to downloading imPROVE. Feedback also generated ideas for facilitating provider interpretation of PROM results. By the end of P3, 2961 patients were eligible, 1375 (46.4%) downloaded imPROVE, and 1070 (36.1% of those eligible, 78% of those who downloaded) completed at least 1 PROM.Discussion and Conclusion Implementation efforts across 2 surgical departments at 2 academic teaching hospitals enabled collaboration across clinical specialties and longitudinal PROM reporting for patients receiving breast cancer care; the implementation effort also highlighted patient difficulties with mobile app-based PROM collection, particularly around initial engagement. This study talks about how we introduced a new mobile application called imPROVE to collect information from patients about their health during visits to breast cancer and plastic surgery clinics. We used a system called PDSA to help us plan and carry out this change in 4 phases, and we measured how well it worked using a framework called RE-AIM. We talked to patients and staff to find out what problems we might have before we started, and we used their feedback to improve the program and make it easier to use. By the end of the third phase, almost 50% of eligible patients had downloaded the program and over 1000 had completed at least 1 survey. This project helped doctors and patients communicate better and keep track of health information over time.