Medical Subject Headings (MeSH): Patient Reported Outcome Measures

Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) in healthcare are self-administered surveys or questionnaires that patients complete to provide information about their health status, symptoms, functional status, and quality of life. These measures are based on the patient’s own perception and experiences, rather than on clinical observations or test results.

PROMs can be used to:

Assess the effectiveness of healthcare interventions, treatments, or procedures

Monitor patients’ progress over time

Identify areas of improvement for treatment

Evaluate the patient’s quality of life, functional status, and overall health status

Compare the outcomes of different treatments or interventions

PROMs can be used in various areas of healthcare, such as mental health, oncology, orthopedics, and many more. Examples of commonly used PROMs include:

The 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36)

The EuroQol 5-Dimension 5-Level (EQ-5D)

The Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS)

PROMs can be completed by patients at different time points, such as before treatment, during treatment, and after treatment. It’s important to note that the PROMs are not a substitute for clinical measures, but they are a complement to it and can be used to supplement the clinical measures to get a better understanding of the patient’s condition.

PROMs have been found to be reliable and valid measures of patient-reported outcomes, and they are increasingly being used in clinical practice and research to improve the quality and effectiveness of healthcare.