An assessment of patient readiness to engage in digital patient reported outcomes in an Australian inflammatory bowel disease cohort

<b>Objectives:</b> Digital patient-reported outcome (PRO) tools, though beneficial for managing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), remain underutilized in Australia. This study aimed to investigate a group of Australian patients' readiness to engage with digital PRO tools and identify potential barriers to their implementation. <b>Methods:</b> We assessed 58 patients from a tertiary IBD clinic in Melbourne, Australia, using the Readiness and Enablement Index for Health Technology (ReadHy) tool, and compared the results to those from a Danish study. <b>Results:</b> Compared to the Danish cohort, our patients were younger with more frequent users of electronic devices, showed higher readiness across most ReadHy dimensions, except in the "heiQ8 Emotional Distress" dimension. <b>Conclusion:</b> These findings suggest a generally favourable environment for implementing digital PRO tools at an Australian tertiary IBD clinic, though attention should be paid to emotional well-being to improve adoption. This study also provides a framework for other centres to evaluate their patients' readiness for digital PRO engagement.