Table 5 Quotes of participants
Reaction | |
|---|---|
Q1-G2 | “Yes, I thought [participating in the program] was very meaningful. For me, it was quite an eye-opener. I think I did a lot with it. I hope to see the results in a moment. But very purposeful, yes.” |
Q2-G1 | “Maybe [the program should] indeed incorporate more emphasis on the goal of collecting data and the clinical relevance you can gain from it, because this will stimulate awareness among physical therapists. Like, the ‘why’ - why do you [collect data] the way you do?” |
Q3-G1 | “I personally think it would be more interesting to repeat [the second peer assessment] and explore the outcomes that appear then. This [study] period is maybe a little too short to draw firm conclusions from the outcomes.” |
Learning | |
Q4-G1 | “I think it is certainly valuable to experience as a young physical therapist that data exist and that there are comparison materials available, that you can form an opinion about this and search for explanations. For that matter, it is really good to learn to think in this way.” |
Q5-G1 | “But I think that we might be very critical; can you draw conclusions from the data? Because if we are already remarking how large discrepancies exist between the methods of data collection and what desirable outcomes we are actually filling in for patients, then we can ask ourselves the question: are these data useful at all?” |
Q6-G1 | “Yes, [measuring the actual outcome of the patient] is the most ideal situation, as it were. Eventually however, especially in repeated measurements, it is often the case that you have an end evaluation and you are busy and you ask the patient ‘can I send the questionnaire online’? And if this questionnaire is not completed, you have to close the treatment episode [by completing it yourself]. That’s kind of what it comes down to in daily practice, and you score higher then.” |
Q7-G1 | “I thought of this as a painful conclusion. We ask our patients to complete a questionnaire, which requires around 20 min of their time, while we do not take the measure completely seriously and actually just…don’t use it as an input to guide future treatment…” |
Q8-G2 | “I said let’s perform an evaluation measurement and based on that we moved in another direction, and are going to evaluate again in six weeks. So, if we are talking about quality of care for the patient, I think I’m more consciously working to improve that.” |
Q9-G2 | “Yes, and a less obligatory mindset and more being allowed to and wanting to improve care. Because I think most people in this room want to improve and develop their skills and treatments or whatever. I think that…this shift is being accomplished, from ‘we have to’ complete the questionnaires to ‘I want to’ complete them…” |
Behavior | |
Q10-G2 | “I formulated three goals. 1. Completing the start and end measurements more often, purely quantitative… 2. Using [end measurements] more often as a tool to decide whether the treatment episode [should] be closed or continued, together with the patient. And 3. leaving the completion of questionnaires to patients more frequently.” |
Q11-G2 | “In the repeated measurement I tell [the patient] ‘you scored a certain number of points on this measure last time for this activity, so where are you now?’ And the patient will score the activity again and subsequently we can reflect on that together.” |
Q12-G1 | “I still barely use [the collected data] to guide my treatments. I only use them when closing a treatment episode actually… I’m not using it to gain something extra out of it; I obtained this information with my own history taking and physical examination.” |
Q13-G2 | “It is time consuming…Let’s say you have a completed QBPDS and the EHR system could…select items that stand out, then you might implement or apply it more. But currently I have to interpret the whole questionnaire myself and what comes out of it. So [automated data analysis] would help me.” |
Q14-G2 | “That QBPDS is just really a Quebec Pain in the Ass, because it is a really time-consuming and long questionnaire…” |
Q15-G1 | “If we are really being honest, time is the most precious thing there is. Look, if we ask our patients to complete a questionnaire and it will take them 20 min and we do nothing with it, we can ask ourselves what are we really doing? Actually, that is a little odd. Sometimes this makes you think that we only do it because we have to. So that relevance of why you should [collect outcome data] needs to be much clearer in advance. I think that is very important. I think a lot of physical therapists actually don’t know that.” |
Results | |
Q16-G2 | “I don’t know exactly how much [I improved], but I think it is not realistic to improve [on process indicators] as much as I intended, as some people suddenly stop treatment and it is very difficult to contact them sometimes.” |
Q17-G1 | “Yes, we complete more questionnaires, but for me it is important that it is not just done for show. Yes, it is completed more, but [we must also do] it with more intrinsic motivation and not solely because of external pressure to participate in good practice or from practice owners; you actually do it to improve quality of care.” |