JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Hospitals routinely collect large amounts of administrative data, yet this data is rarely repurposed for professional development. There is interest to build new interfaces that specifically support reflective practice that complement existing quality and safety reporting.

Objective:

This study aims to understand why routinely collected administrative data has not yet become widely used to support reflective practice and lifelong learning.

Methods:

We conducted semi-structured interviews (n=19) with thought leaders from a range of backgrounds, including clinicians, chief medical officers, ICT professionals, informaticians, researchers, and leaders from related industries. Interviews were thematically analyzed by two independent coders.

Results:

Respondents identified visibility of outcomes, peer comparison, group reflective discussions, and practice change as potential benefits. The key barriers include legacy technology, distrust with data quality, data misinterpretation, and team culture. Respondents suggested recruiting local champions for co-design, presenting data for understanding rather than information, coaching from craft group leaders, and reflection linked to Continuing Professional Development (CPD) as enablers to successful implementation.

Conclusions:

Overall there was consensus among thought-leaders, bringing together insights from diverse backgrounds and medical jurisdictions. We found clinicians are interested in repurposing administrative data for professional development despite concerns with underlying data quality and visual presentation. They prefer group reflection led by supportive craft group leaders, rather than individual reflection. Our findings provide novel insights into the specific benefits of potential reflective practice interfaces based on these datasets. They inform the design of new models of in-hospital reflection linked to the annual CPD planning-recording-reflection cycle.