From protocolized to person-centered chronic care in general practice: study protocol of an action-based research project (COPILOT)

AIM: To develop a proactive person-centered care approach for persons with (multiple) chronic diseases in general practice, and to explore the impact on 'Quadruple aims': experiences of patients and professionals, patient outcomes and costs of resources use. BACKGROUND: The management of people with multiple chronic diseases challenges health care systems designed around single disease. Patients with multimorbidity often receive highly fragmented care that may lead to inefficient, ineffective and potentially harmful treatments and neglect of essential health needs. A more comprehensive, person-centered approach is advocated for persons with multiple morbidities. However, examples on how to provide more person-centered care and evidence of its impact are scarce. A group of Dutch general practitioners (GPs) took the initiative to develop such a care approach. METHODS/DESIGN: Mixed methods with a development and pilot-testing phase. The proactive person-centered approach will be developed using an action-based research design consisting of multiple plan-act-observe-reflect-adjust cycles. In each cycle, experiences of patients and primary care professionals from 13 practices will be collected via interviews, observations and focus groups. Starting point for the first cycle is a 'person-centered consultation' of up to 1 h in which the GP discusses the health status and health care needs of the patient. Furthermore, shared decisions between GP and patient are made on treatment goals and follow-up. In the pilot-test phase, a nested case cohort study allows to explore the impact of the new approach on 'Quadruple aim' outcomes comparing persons with and without exposure to the new care approach. DISCUSSION: This study will provide a proactive person-centered approach for persons with multimorbidity in primary care and estimate its potential impact on quadruple outcomes.