[Why doesn't healthcare use patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) more widely?]

Abstract

PROMs provide valuable information from patients about their health and health-related problems. These measures complement medical measures and are critical for developing optimized, co-produced and person-centred healthcare, as they add important perspectives, offering a holistic view of health. Valid and reliable PROMs have been developed since a long time and are increasingly used in research. Digital PROMs are today available at 1177.se but seldom utilized in clinical practice. To utilize PROMs in clinical care, healthcare professionals need to understand their value and how to analyse data and use results. Therefore, to support the increased interest to implement PROMs, this knowledge needs to be disseminated among all professionals. In order to effectively use PROMs in improvement work, we also need to address significant technical and legal obstacles. Integrating PROM data into electronic medical records should be prioritized in the ongoing development of infrastructure for health data collection.