BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article
Front. Health Serv.
Sec. Implementation Science
Volume 5 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/frhs.2025.1613208
This article is part of the Research TopicPatient-Centered Care: Strengthening Trust and Communication in Healthcare RelationshipsView all 13 articles
Organizational Readiness for Implementing Clinical Decision Support Tools in Chronic Pain Care: A Mixed Methods Evaluation
Provisionally accepted
Miranda J Reid1*
Jyotsna Gutta2Katy Ellis Hilts2Magda Knight1Julie Diiulio3Lori Bilello1Mario El Hayek1
Khoa Nguyen1Christopher A Harle2
Ramzi G Salloum1- 1University of Florida, Gainesville, United States
- 2Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, United States
- 3Applied Decision Science, Cincinnati, United States
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Introduction: Clinical decision support (CDS) tools have the potential to enhance treatment outcomes in chronic pain care, yet their successful implementation depends on the readiness of both providers and clinical staff. The purpose of this study was to assess the readiness for a CDS tool and identify implementation strategies.Methods: A mixed methods approach combined Organizational Readiness for Implementing Change (ORIC) surveys (n=24 providers; n=31 clinical staff) and semi-structured interviews (n=7 providers; n=3 clinical staff). Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential tests, while qualitative data were coded using a rapid qualitative analysis approach.Results: Both the ORIC surveys and semi-structured interviews revealed high perceived organizational readiness for implementation across clinics and roles. There was variation in change efficacy, commitment to change, and overall readiness by clinics (p>0.05) and between roles (p<0.01), with providers demonstrating statistically significant lower ORIC scores than clinical staff. The qualitative results added nuance, with participants identifying patient and provider level barriers to implementation (e.g., technological literacy, low relative priority).However, these barriers were perceived as surmountable with implementation strategies (e.g., technological support, training and materials for providers and staff).The study highlights the benefits of a mixed methods approach to assessing the readiness. Variation in ORIC scores can help target support resources to clinics and roles with lower perceived readiness. Interviews provide an essential opportunity to identify local barriers and acceptable implementation strategies to build stakeholder support. Combined, these approaches allow for a holistic approach to inform tailored implementation support.
Keywords: organizational readiness, implementation science, Clinical decision support, mixed methods, Chronic Pain
Received: 16 Apr 2025; Accepted: 14 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Reid, Gutta, Ellis Hilts, Knight, Diiulio, Bilello, El Hayek, Nguyen, Harle and Salloum. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Miranda J Reid, University of Florida, Gainesville, United States
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.