VetDash: A clinical dashboard for enhancing measurement-based care in Veteran health
Abstract: Objectives: Measurement-based care (MBC) improves clinical decision-making but remains underutilized in the Veterans Health Administration due to barriers such as provider awareness, time constraints, and user-experience limitations. This study describes the development of the War Related Illness and Injury Study Center Veteran Dashboard (VetDash), a patient-level clinical dashboard designed to integrate the VA's Collect, Share, Act model into the provider workflow. Materials and Methods: VetDash was developed using R Shiny, utilizing data from the WRIISC Clinical Intake Packet Database. It integrates patient-reported health data and military history into a dashboard hosted on a Linux-based Shiny Server within the VA's intranet. Results: VetDash includes four modules: Patient Characteristics, Patient Health Symptoms, Patient Exposures, and Patient Self-Report Measures. Providers can visualize patient-reported symptoms, military exposures, and self-report measures, and compare patients to provider-defined cohorts. Discussion and Conclusion: VetDash facilitates MBC integration into the clinical workflow, potentially improving personalized patient care. Future research should evaluate its impact on clinical decisions, outcomes, and explore further enhancements. Veterans often experience complex health conditions that require personalized care. Measurement-based care helps providers make informed decisions by using standardized assessments, but it is not widely used due to provider time constraints, usability issues, and a lack of provider awareness. To address these challenges, we developed VetDash, an interactive dashboard that organizes and visualizes patient-reported health data, military environmental exposures, and symptom patterns. VetDash helps providers quickly review key patient information and compare individuals to similar patient groups, making it easier to track health trends and personalize treatment. The dashboard follows the Department of Veterans Affairs' Collect, Share, Act model, ensuring that data is effectively used in clinical decision-making. VetDash is designed for ease of use, reducing the burden on providers while improving care quality. Future efforts will focus on enhancing system automation and evaluating its impact on clinical outcomes.