spotlight

Measuring patient-reported outcomes really matters Writing in the NEJM earlier this year, Ethan Basch summarises the findings of his paper 'Patient-reported outcomes - harnessing patients' voices to improve care' as this: 'Recording patient-reported outcomes electronically in real time and allowing clinicians to review longitudinal PRO reports can improve patients' quality of life, enhance patient–clinician communication, reduce emergency department utilization, and lengthen survival'. So what is a patient-reported outcome? We can think of it as a milestone or endpoint as a result of healthcare that comes entirely from the perspective of the person receiving that care. They are measured using validated questionnaires which may focus on pain, quality of life, wellbeing and ability to perform activities of daily living.  PROMs are not new and have typically been used to assess the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of surgical procedures such as joint rep