Patient-reported measures (PRMs) refer to any report of a patient’s health status and/or experience that comes directly from the patient, without any interpretation from a clinician or other healthcare professional.
PRMs are crucial in providing valuable insights into patient experiences and complementing clinical measures. By providing a structured way of reporting on health outcomes, PRMs can enhance healthcare by enabling patients to share information about their health and personal experiences.
PRMs are questionnaires designed to help patients report on various aspects of their health, such as quality of life, symptoms, and daily functioning. They are typically measured on two or more occasions, allowing for comparisons over time (a.k.a episode of care). PRM questionnaires usually include rating scales, such as two-, three-, five-, or six-point scales.
There are three general types of PRMs:
- Generic PRMs, which measure aspects of health common to most patients, such as the SF-36.
- Condition-specific PRMs, which have questions that directly relate to specific health conditions and their associated treatments.
- Population-specific PRMs, which apply to specific service sectors or segments of the population, such as children.
PRs are used for three broad purposes:
- Enhancing clinician-patient interactions at the micro level.
- Comparing the effects of different treatments and understanding variation among healthcare providers at the meso level.
- Population surveillance and informing policy at the macro level.
Using PRMs for any of these purposes can contribute to improving healthcare quality and safety.