Conventional medicine has long followed the idea of “health as the absence of disease”. It ignores the perspective of the patient and becomes disadvantageous when physical health outcomes are difficult to measure, especially in fields of practice such as mental health, chronic disease, and public health medicine.

Fundamentally, health status is a complex phenomenon comprised of a constellation of different factors, such as work, family, and social life which interact to influence how someone behaves with the world around them. For example, someone with a chronic disease such as type 1 diabetes may consider themselves to be 'healthy' if their condition is well-managed.

Modern clinical decision-making should capture the multitude of factors contributing to health status and treatment effectiveness, while also favouring the patient's self-perception of health. 

Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) and patient-reported experience measures (PREMs) can be used to evaluate the quality of a patient's care, and their perception of it. They can help doctors, policy makers and other stakeholders make data-driven changes to their service delivery.

What are Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs)?

Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are clinically validated tools which have been developed specifically to capture data in a clinically relevant format. PROMs are often specific for a certain condition or treatment method, meaning they are constantly being refined across the entire spectrum of health conditions.

PROMs can evaluate clinical outcomes or the varied process of healthcare delivery. For example, they can include a progression or change in the patient's symptoms, mobility, or different aspects of their wellbeing.

A common PROM used is EORTC QLQ-C30 (European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire). It asks the patient questions such as:

• Do you have any trouble taking a long walk?

• Have you had pain?

• Did pain interfere with your daily activities?

• Has your physical condition or medical treatment interfered with your social activities?

Each of these is ranked from 1 (Not at All) to 4 (Very Much) by the patient, and an overall score is calculated, which then gives the clinician a more objective view of a cancer patient's quality of life.

By implementing PROMs, a healthcare provider can optimise how clinical services are being delivered and ensure the best possible outcome for their patients.

What are Patient Reported Experience Measures (PREMs)?

Patient-reported experience measures (PREMs), as the name suggests, are a quantitative measure of the patient's experience throughout their healthcare journey. These can range from very broad questions such as "How would you rate the hospital?" to more specific ones, such as "How clean were the facilities?" or "How friendly were the staff?".

Through PREM scoring, patients can provide closed-loop feedback directly to their care provider about potential areas for organisational improvement, allowing a safe forum in the tailoring of care delivery. 

At Novocuris, we help healthcare providers implement PROMs and PREMs into their daily workflows. Our mobile application utilises real-time data reporting, capturing both PROMs and PREMs. This allows for immediate action to improve a clinical outcome, or address operational problems as they arise. 

Our system is able to deliver automated auditing of this data to reduce the clerical workload and allow the analysis of large datasets, reducing administrative burden