Project title
Patient reported outcome measures to shape clinic consults: Impact on patient satisfaction
Country
Wales, UK
Background
Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) focus on patients’ own reports of their symptom burden, level of function, and psychological wellbeing. They are increasingly recognised as important outcome measures used to assess the effectiveness of procedures or the impact of service interventions. Less is known about the utility of PROMs on routine delivery of care in chronic diseases, particularly how they may aid communication and improve patient satisfaction with clinical consultations.
Patients with chronic diseases tend to experience a range of symptoms and have varied priorities for their health and care. Follow-up clinic appointments are often short. Collection of patient-reported information ahead of clinic appointments could shape the consultation by facilitating shared decision-making and focusing attention on what matters most to the individual patient.
Summary
The project will target people with neuro-inflammatory conditions (mainly multiple sclerosis (MS)) attending routine neurology outpatient appointments. A patient and clinician-facing web platform will be implemented to collect and analyse PROMs ahead of clinic appointments. The PROMs will be immediately integrated into electronic health records so that they are available for clinicians to view during consultation with patients.
Patients and clinicians will be invited to feedback using mixed methods on the acceptability and utility of the PROMs, including barriers to completion, ease of use, nature of PROMs used, and whether they enhanced the consultation.
Outcome
This project will evaluate the feasibility and impact of integrating routine electronic collection of PROMs into an outpatient service for people with chronic diseases to support improvements in patient care.