This resource provides clinical teams, healthcare organizations (professional organizations, patient organizations), and academic institutions with a toolkit containing the necessary information—including definitions, roles, barriers to implementation, implementation strategies, documentation, resources, and recommendations—to fully understand what defines and characterizes PREMs and PROMs.
The toolkit facilitates the selection of a valid tool for collecting self-reported experience and health measures from patients.
Although answering questions about the PROMs et PREMs measurement tools may require the help of another person, these must be completed by the patients. Thus, they DO NOT INCREASE THE WORKLOAD OF CLINICIANS. These tools can be completed before or after an appointment by the person or with the help of the administrative staff or a caregiver.
Source: Toolkit Patient-reported outcome and experience measures. Content produced for the SSA Quebec Unit.
Definitions of PREMs and PROMs
PREMs
PREMs measure patients’ perceived care experiences, providing a more comprehensive view of the quality of care.
PROMs
PROMs measure patients’ perceived health outcomes without the interpretation of a healthcare professional. These outcomes reflect patients’ perspectives on their illness and treatments.
- Healthcare partner (patient, service user, family member, citizen)
- Researcher or research professional
- Healthcare professional
- Social services professional
- Decision-maker or manager
- Professor
- Student
- Continuous Improvement Agent and Regional Continuous Improvement Agent (AACQ – ARACQ)
- Family Medicine Clinic or Family Medicine Group
- Clinical Coordinator
- Targeted improvements: use of an appropriate tool for collecting and measuring PREMs and PROMs
- Outcomes:
- At the clinical level, improved patient-provider communication.
- At the organizational level, planning aligned with needs and the care and services provided.
- New knowledge: better understanding of the psychometric properties of the tools and improved ability to select the appropriate PREM and PROM tools.
The tool consists of four key sections:
- a definition of PREMs and PROMs, including their key role in improving health care and services
- barriers to integration and ways to overcome them
- relevant resources (websites, informational materials, resources)
- recommendations.
Hypothetical scenario: Implementation of a PREM to collect patient-reported data on the perceived care experience in a family medical group (FMG)
Maryse, a family physician and medical manager of an FMG, wants to improve the care experience for patients enrolled in her FMG, particularly in terms of communication. She is wondering which tool she should use.
Using the Tool
She uses the tool to fully understand the components of the perceived care experience and selects a tool that measures communication-related components. She bases her choice on the tool’s psychometric qualities and the time required to complete it.
Impact
By selecting a valid, relevant tool that meets her objectives, Maryse collects valid data to support her decision-making within her GMF. She implements various strategies to improve communication with patients in collaboration with administrative staff. She can measure over time whether her interventions result in a change in the patient experience.
- Marie-Eve Poitras, professeure agrégée à l’Université de Sherbrooke
- Vanessa T. Vaillancourt, coordonnatrice de recherche
- Priscilla Beaupré, professionnelle de recherche
- Marie-Josée Emond, étudiante au doctorat
- Marie-Eve Perron, étudiante au doctorat
- Amélie Fournier, designer graphique scientifique
- Pierre-Henri Roux-Levy, stagiaire post-doctoral
Poitras M-E, T-Vaillancourt V, Beaupré P, Emond M-J, Perron M-E, Fournier A, Roux-Levy P-H. (2023) Toolkit: Patient-Reported Outcome and Experience Measures. Content produced for Unité SSA Québec.
| PROMs/PREMs are | PROMs/PREMs are not |
|---|---|
| + Patient’s perception of their health status or health services received | x Issued from “in-house” questionnaire not validated |
| + Issued from validated questionnaires constructed using a rigorous method in collaboration with patients. | x Issued from a conversation with a patient |
| + Issued from questionnaires completed by patients | x Based on questionnaires completed by professional staff rather than by a patient |
| + Quantitative and have an accessible literacy level | x Qualitative |
| + Applicable to different populations |