Timely intervention, monitoring and education MATTERS in MS (TIME MATTERS in MS): Development of a globally applicable quality improvement tool

Jeremy Hobart; Helmut Butzkueven; Jodi Haartsen; Tjalf Ziemssen; Thirusha Lane; Gavin Giovannoni

doi:10.1177/20552173221124023

Timely intervention, monitoring and education MATTERS in MS (TIME MATTERS in MS): Development of a globally applicable quality improvement tool

Mult Scler J Exp Transl Clin. 2022 Sep 9;8(3):20552173221124023. doi: 10.1177/20552173221124023. eCollection 2022 Jul-Sep.

Authors

Jeremy Hobart¹, Helmut Butzkueven², Jodi Haartsen³, Tjalf Ziemssen⁴, Thirusha Lane⁵, Gavin Giovannoni⁶

Affiliations

¹ Clinical Neurology and Health Measurement, Plymouth University Peninsula Schools of Medicine and Dentistry, Plymouth, UK.
² van Cleef Roet Centre for Neuroscience, Department of Neuroscience, Alfred Health, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
³ Client Engagement and Wellbeing, Multiple Sclerosis Limited, Blackburn, VIC, Australia.
⁴ Center for Clinical Neuroscience, Department of Neurology, Carl Gustav Carus University Hospital Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
⁵ Clinical Research London, London, UK.
⁶ Queen Mary University of London, Blizard Institute, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, London, UK.

Abstract

Background: Previously, consensus MS care standards were defined by MS specialist neurologists from 19 countries. We developed, piloted and refined an Excel-based quality improvement tool to enable MS services to benchmark against these standards. Here, we examine the refined tool.

Objective: To determine the applicability of the quality improvement tool in different healthcare settings.

Methods: MS centres across the globe were invited to pilot the quality improvement tool by coding the medical records of 36 adults with MS. We invited feedback on user friendliness, quality improvement tool usefulness and relevance of data collected.

Results: Seventeen centres from 14 countries participated; 14 completed the post-service evaluation survey. Over 50% of responders rated the tool 'very easy' or 'easy' to use and 'very relevant' to their service. Almost 85% of responders (11/13) planned to introduce changes to their service, including improvements in documentation, communication, interactions with colleagues and referrals; 85% would use a future shorter version of the tool.

Conclusions: The quality improvement tool can enable MS centres globally to benchmark their services. Widespread uptake of a shorter tool may help MS centres to work towards achieving consensus standards for brain health-focused care. Incorporation into routine clinical practice would drive adoption.

Keywords: Benchmarking; consensus standards; data collection; medical records; patient care; quality improvement.