Digital technology to improve consultation in IBD care: a literature review

Introduction
Digital technology designed to improve care for patients with inflammatory bowel disease has received increased attention in recent years. In the UK, technology in this area has been developed and preliminary reports of pilot programs have shown promising results. When considering the range of designs and purposes that technology can incorperate, the concept of a ‘digital consultation’ has become a crucial factor. To develop digital solutions effectively in clinical practice for inflammatory bowel disease services, it is essential to understand the existing published evidence base on what a ‘digitally enhanced’ consultation may entail.

Methods
A literature search was conducted by searching the Embase, CINAHL and Medline databases using the following search terms: ‘inflammatory bowel disease’, ‘gastroenterology’, ‘chronic disease’, ‘e-health’, ‘digital health’ and ‘outpatient consultations’. The search was limited to articles written in English. Initially, 313 articles were retrieved. To refine the results and focus on web portals/mobile apps that enhance a consultation, abstracts were reviewed and irrelevant articles were removed. A date range of 2016–2021 was applied, which resulted in 13 relevant research articles.

Results
A total of 10 technologies were described and five themes emerged; ‘disease activity’, ‘quality of life’, ‘quality of care’, ‘healthcare utilisation’ and ‘test of change’. The retrieved articles were critically evaluated.

Conclusions
Inflammatory bowel disease services must decide what they wish to achieve by using digital technology. Some centres may wish to improve access, while others aim to improve the quality of the care that they provide. This review illustrates variation in both aim, design and construct, which has led to a difference in results.