Decision-Making in Epilepsy Care - Are Digital Services Underutilised?

Abstract

Digital services are increasingly utilised in healthcare decision-making (DM). There are various digital DM support tools for healthcare professionals (HCP) and to provide patient-generated health data. This qualitative study explored how HCPs utilise digital services for the purpose of sharing information with patients and evaluated the perceptions of neurologists and nurses with regard to their own and others' roles in DM, paying particular attention to the manner in which digitalisation may facilitate the sharing of health information. Focus group interviews were conducted with neurologists (n=3) and nurses (n=4), and the data were analysed using inductive content analysis. Both neurologists and nurses considered providing information to patients with epilepsy to be central to DM, with neurologists providing medical information and nurses focusing on practical, daily information. Use of digital services, for information sharing remained limited, yet nurses guided patients to them more frequently than neurologists. Information was primarily provided during face-to-face appointments, while nurses emphasised the importance of implementing digital services. Both neurologists and nurses recognised the value of reliable information in enhancing patient knowledge and promoting treatment adherence. Future research is still needed to evaluate the utilisation of digital services in clinical DM.