Positive Health dialogue tool and value-based healthcare: a qualitative exploratory study during residents’ outpatient consultations

Abstract

Objective To explore how residents experienced the application of the Positive Health dialogue tool (PH-tool) during outpatient consultations and its influence on the delivery of value-based healthcare (VBHC).Design Qualitative study using non-participant observations of outpatient consultations during which residents used the PH-tool, followed by longitudinal individual, semistructured interviews. To analyse the data from observations and interviews, observational form notes’ summarisation and categorisation, and an iterative-inductive thematic approach was used.Participants Eight residents—five from the ear, nose, and throat-department and three from the gastroenterology-hepatology-department—were selected through convenience sampling, accounting for 79 observations and 79 interviews.Results Residents had bivalent experiences with using the PH-tool. Residents discussed three main benefits: a gained insight into the individual patient’s context and functioning, a changed dynamics in resident–patient communication, and an increased awareness regarding value in terms of patient-related outcomes and healthcare costs. Three barriers became apparent: doubts regarding the PH-tool’s relevance and scope, boundaries of superspecialised medical professionals, and a lack of demarcation in clinical practice.Conclusion The PH-tool use can be beneficial for residents during outpatient consultations with new patients and follow-up in cases of multidimensional problems, particularly in cases of chronic conditions and generalist care. In these situations, the tool yielded valuable patient information beyond physical health, helped foster patient engagement, and enabled tailoring the treatment plan to individual patients’ needs. On the other hand, the PH-tool was not a good fit for simple problems, clearly demarcated help requests, periodic follow-up consultations, or verbose patients. In addition, it was not suitable for superspecialised care, because it yielded an abundance of general information. For particular patients and problems, using the PH-tool seems a promising strategy to increase VBHC delivery. Nevertheless, further research and detailing is needed to better align the PH-tool’s broad intent and clinical practice.