JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Care4Today is a digital health platform developed by Johnson & Johnson comprising a patient mobile app (Care4Today Connect), a provider portal, and an educational website. It aims to improve medication adherence, enable consistent self-report of health experiences, provide patient education, enhance connection with healthcare providers (HCPs), and facilitate data and analytics learning across multiple disease areas, including cardiovascular disease.

Objective:

We aimed to gather user feedback on the Care4Today Connect app, and to co-create and validate potential new features to optimize the app for people with coronary artery disease (CAD) and/or peripheral artery disease (PAD).

Methods:

The study had 3 parts. Part 1 was an internet-based survey gathering feedback on the user experience and insights into potential refinements for the existing app from people with cardiovascular disease. Part 2 consisted of co-creation with a virtual focus group of people with CAD and/or PAD aimed at leveraging enhanced digital technology to address initiatives identified in Part 1. In Part 3, potential enhancements to the app were validated through individual interviews with people with CAD and/or PAD. All participants were US-based adults recruited through Janssen’s Patient Engagement Research Council program.

Results:

In total, 37 participants with cardiovascular disease (including CAD and/or PAD), completed the Part 1 user survey, identifying opportunities to enhance the medication adherence and health experience tracking capabilities of the app. In the Part 2 virtual focus group (n=3) and Part 3 individual interviews (n=8), participants with CAD and/or PAD indicated they would prefer multiple ways to reduce manual input of medications. Automated upload of medications from a trusted third party (eg, HCP/insurance portal) was an appealing solution for initial setup in a population with high rates of polypharmacy, with additional value in medication upload via photo capture or optical character recognition for new medications or medication changes. Participants reacted positively to a dedicated tool to track and share their health experiences with their HCPs, and were, on average, willing to spend 10-15 minutes a day manually tracking 4 or 5 metrics, particularly those requested by an HCP. The ability to view graphical trends in their data and feedback from the clinical team was welcomed, although concerns were expressed about automated notifications without HCP input. Suggestions were made to improve the user experience and interface to reflect visibility and dexterity issues common in the aging CAD and/or PAD population.

Conclusions:

Through a mixed-methods approach, enhancements to the Care4Today Connect app were proposed to optimize its ability to meet the specific requirements of patients with CAD and/or PAD, including reducing friction within the medication adherence module and improving provider actionability for self-reported data gathered via the app.