Is There Room for Individual Patient-Specified Preferences in the Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Revolution?

Authors

Leif I. Solberg, HealthPartners InstituteFollow
Jeanette Y. Ziegenfuss, HealthPartners InstituteFollow
Rachael L. Rivard, HealthPartners InstituteFollow
Christine K. Norton, patient investigatorFollow
Robin R. Whitebird, University of St. ThomasFollow
Glyn Elwyn, The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical PracticeFollow
Mark Swiontkowski, University of Minnesota Medical SchoolFollow

Publication Date

11-27-2023

Keywords

patient-reported outcome measures, PROMs, knee joint, arthroplasty, patient-centered care, orthopedics

Abstract

Purpose: The study aim was to test the feasibility of collecting qualitative patient-preferred outcomes or goals and the degree of their attainment as an addition to a standardized process for collecting quantitative composite patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) from patients undergoing knee joint replacement..

Methods: Patients of a large Midwestern medical group scheduled to have total replacement of their knee joint have been asked to complete a PROMs survey preoperatively and at 3 and 12 months after surgery since 2014. In March 2020, an open-ended question about their most important preferred outcome was added to the existing questionnaire. The responses for all 3 time periods from the first 6 months of this addition were summarized quantitatively and analyzed by 2 reviewers.

Results: During that 6-month period, 1481 people completed the main survey while 1463 (98.8%) also completed the open-ended question. At baseline, 90.8% of the 590 baseline respondents identified a preferred outcome. If multiple-choice categories had been used, 82.7% of the responses would have lost some or a large amount of their preferred goals’ meaning. Of the 144 who completed surveys at both baseline and 3 months, 86.1% reported another outcome in addition to pain relief, while 54.2% reported “Complete or Mostly” achieving their self-identified preferred outcome.

Conclusions: Most people who have joint replacement surgery and respond to a quantitative PROMs survey are willing to report on their other preferred outcomes as well. Adding an open-ended question to PROMs surveys may increase clinician focus on addressing outcomes important to each patient.

Recommended Citation

Solberg LI, Ziegenfuss JY, Rivard RL, Norton CK, Whitebird RR, Elwyn G, Swiontkowski M. Is there room for individual patient-specified preferences in the patient-reported outcome measurement revolution? J Patient Cent Res Rev. 2023;10:210-8. doi: 10.17294/2330-0698.2017