WISE: web-based interdisciplinary symptom evaluation

WISE is a web-based patient interview tool used by the interdisciplinary pain unit at the University of Zurich’s Center for Dental Medicine to record and evaluate orofacial pain. The unit wants to increase user-friendliness in the next iteration of the tool.

Orofacial pain can have any of a wide range of causes, including periodontitis, oral mucosal diseases, bone diseases and others. Interdisciplinary teams at the pain unit of the Center for Dental Medicine of the University of Zurich investigate these complex cases and define individual treatment plans. The interview tool WISE (web-based interdisciplinary symptom evaluation) was developed to collect and evaluate patient data. The tool is based on the collection of information reported by patients in free text form and using graphics depicting a map of the body, a symptom-burden checklist and validated questionnaires. It generates a case summary that assists clinicians in determining how complex the case is and whether a targeted expert evaluation is necessary, thus supporting clinical decision-making.

The tool, which has been used to collect information from patients for several years, needs to be further refined. First and foremost, the user-interface and the tool’s dashboard need to be redesigned to increase user-friendliness. The SCDH analyses the existing interview tool and prepares recommendations for refining its design. The analysis and recommendations are summarised in a brief report.