Prioritizing clinical data for psychiatric inpatient dashboards: insights from a nationwide survey of German university centers

Introduction: As digital data collection becomes increasingly integrated into the treatment of patients with affective disorders, the use of dashboards to visualize this information for clinicians is gaining importance. However, the question of which parameters should be prioritized for display remains largely unaddressed. This study aims to identify the parameters that physicians working in psychiatric facilities consider most important for inclusion in dashboard infrastructures supporting the inpatient care of patients with affective disorders. Methods: From July 2024 to August 2024, we conducted a survey among 57 physicians working in psychiatric facilities at German university centers with varying levels of experience. We asked them to rank the relevance of 22 pre-specified key clinical parameters for digital dashboard displays. Additionally, we assessed whether characteristics such as gender, age, years of professional experience, and professional seniority influenced these preferences. Results: Forty-six physicians (80%) physicians completed the data entry. Across the sample, current suicidality emerged as the most important parameter to clinicians. Other highly ranked parameters included information on previous pharmacological antidepressant treatment attempts and data on the course of disease such as year of onset and the number of episodes. The influence of clinician-related factors on parameter prioritization was limited, supporting the generalizability of the findings. Discussion: Our findings provide practical guidance for the refinement of digital dashboards tailored to the clinical needs in the treatment of affective disorders. Future research should incorporate the perspectives of the entire multidisciplinary care team and evaluate the feasibility and clinical integration of such dashboards to ensure their broader applicability and effectiveness in routine practice.