Developing an Implementation Strategy for Systematic Measurement of Patient-Reported Outcomes at an Academic Health Center

Abstract

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 

Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are used in research and have the potential to improve clinical care. We sought to develop a strategy for integrating PROMs into routine clinical care at an academic health center. The implementation strategy consisted of three phases. The first, exploratory phase, focused on engaging leadership and conducting an inventory of current efforts to collect PROMs. The inventory revealed 87 patient-reported outcome efforts, 47 of which used validated PROMs (62% for research, 21% for clinical care, 17% for quality). In the second, preparatory phase, we identified three pilot implementation sites chosen with facilitators determined in the exploratory phase. Using data from local needs assessments at the pilot sites, we constructed a timeline for inclusion of PROM efforts across the clinical enterprise. In the third phase, we adapted a technology platform for capturing PROMs using the electronic health record and began implementing this platform at the pilot sites. We found that integrating PROMs into routine clinical practice is highly complex. This complexity necessitates change management at the enterprise level.