Provider Education and Clinical Decision Support Tool Improve Proficiency in Advanced Therapies for Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Abstract

Background Despite the growing availability of advanced medical therapies for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), significant gaps remain in treatment initiation. Targeted education and point-of-care clinical decision support may address this gap and lead to improved patient outcomes. Methods A multiphase IBD-focused provider education and decision support program spanning 10 years was developed consisting of (1) symposia-based education (n = 1101 learners; 2014 to 2019), (2) point-of-care education (n = 8547 learners) with clinical decision support tool (CDST) deployment (n = 11 940 users, n = 954 learners; 2019 to 2023), and (3) data-driven platform optimization (2024). Modifications were made through qualitative learner and user surveys, crowdsourced cases to guide implementation, and quantitative data metrics. A matched prepost methodology for testing was used for learners, and a key outcome measure was impact on mastery defined as correctness and confidence for scenario-based questions. Results Symposia-based education significantly improved provider knowledge, competence, and confidence for all learning domains except shared decision making and treatment selection. Based on learner data and qualitative provider feedback, a freely accessible web-based platform was launched (IBD CDST; www.CDSTforIBD.com). The platform had significant positive impacts on knowledge, competence, confidence, practice, and clinical decision-making learning domains, including shared decision-making. A greater than 200% increase in mastery was observed because of the educational platform model. The impact was consistent for physicians and advanced practice providers. Conclusions We have built a freely accessible web-based decision support tool platform for advanced medical therapy selection in IBD that significantly improved provider mastery in decision-making for advanced medical therapies.