A Web-Based, Population-Based Cirrhosis Identification and Management System for Improving Cirrhosis Care: Qualitative Formative Evaluation

Background: Cirrhosis, or scarring of the liver, is a debilitating condition that affects millions of US adults. Early identification, linkage to care, and retention of care are critical for preventing severe complications and death from cirrhosis. Objective: The purpose of this study is to conduct a preimplementation formative evaluation to identify factors that could impact implementation of the Population-Based Cirrhosis Identification and Management System (P-CIMS) in clinics serving patients with cirrhosis. P-CIMS is a web-based informatics tool designed to facilitate patient outreach and cirrhosis care management. Methods: Semistructured interviews were conducted between January and May 2016 with frontline providers in liver disease and primary care clinics at 3 Veterans Health Administration medical centers. A total of 10 providers were interviewed, including 8 physicians and midlevel providers from liver-related specialty clinics and 2 primary care providers who managed patients with cirrhosis. The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research guided the development of the interview guides. Inductive consensus coding and content analysis were used to analyze transcribed interviews and abstracted coded passages, elucidated themes, and insights. Results: The following themes and subthemes emerged from the analyses: outer setting: needs and resources for patients with cirrhosis; inner setting: readiness for implementation (subthemes: lack of resources, lack of leadership support), and implementation climate (subtheme: competing priorities); characteristics of individuals: role within clinic; knowledge and beliefs about P-CIMS (subtheme: perceived and realized benefits; useful features; suggestions for improvement); and perceptions of current practices in managing cirrhosis cases (subthemes: preimplementation process for identifying and linking patients to cirrhosis care; structural and social barriers to follow-up). Overall, P-CIMS was viewed as a powerful tool for improving linkage and retention, but its integration in the clinical workflow required leadership support, time, and staffing. Providers also cited the need for more intuitive interface elements to enhance usability. Conclusions: P-CIMS shows promise as a powerful tool for identifying, linking, and retaining care in patients living with cirrhosis. The current evaluation identified several improvements and advantages of P-CIMS over current care processes and provides lessons for others implementing similar population-based identification and management tools in populations with chronic disease.