Abstract
BackgroundPatient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are important in clinical practice and research. The growth of electronic health technologies provides unprecedented opportunities to systematically collect information via PROMs.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to provide an objective and comprehensive overview of the benefits, barriers, and disadvantages of the digital collection of qualitative electronic patient-reported outcome measures (ePROMs).MethodsWe performed a systematic review of articles retrieved from PubMED and Web of Science. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were followed during all stages. The search strategy yielded a total of 2333 records, from which 32 met the predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. The relevant ePROM-related information was extracted from each study.ResultsResults were clustered as benefits and disadvantages. Reported benefits of ePROMs were greater patient preference and acceptability, lower costs, similar or faster completion time, higher data quality and response rates, and facilitated symptom management and patient-clinician communication. Tablets were the most used ePROM modality (14/32, 44%), and, as a platform, Web-based systems were used the most (26/32, 81%). Potential disadvantages of ePROMs include privacy protection, a possible large initial financial investment, and exclusion of certain populations or the “digital divide.”ConclusionsIn conclusion, ePROMs offer many advantages over paper-based collection of patient-reported outcomes. Overall, ePROMs are preferred over paper-based methods, improve data quality, result in similar or faster completion time, decrease costs, and facilitate clinical decision making and symptom management. Disadvantages regarding ePROMs have been outlined, and suggestions are provided to overcome the barriers. We provide a path forward for researchers and clinicians interested in implementing ePROMs.Trial RegistrationPROSPERO CRD42018094795; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=94795
Highlights
In patient-centered care, patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are the gold standard for efficiently evaluating patients’ feelings, thoughts, and complaints about a clinical intervention or disease [1].Clinicians use Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) to guide and audit routine care and support patient-centered care
We aimed to investigate whether pen-and-paper methods are the best option because unsupervised paper-based PROM data collection in clinical trials has resulted in unreadable, missing, or faulty data [5]
After reading the full text, 32 articles that met the predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria were included in this systematic review
Summary
In patient-centered care, patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are the gold standard for efficiently evaluating patients’ feelings, thoughts, and complaints about a clinical intervention or disease [1].Clinicians use PROMs to guide and audit routine care and support patient-centered care. PROM data can be used to screen for health problems, compare outcomes between populations, and assess quality of care They are widely implemented in clinical research [1,4], with positive effects on patient-clinician communication and mutual decision making. The growth of electronic health technologies provides unprecedented opportunities to systematically collect information via PROMs. Objective: The aim of this study was to provide an objective and comprehensive overview of the benefits, barriers, and disadvantages of the digital collection of qualitative electronic patient-reported outcome measures (ePROMs). Reported benefits of ePROMs were greater patient preference and acceptability, lower costs, similar or faster completion time, higher data quality and response rates, and facilitated symptom management and patient-clinician communication. EPROMs are preferred over paper-based methods, improve data quality, result in similar or faster completion time, decrease costs, and facilitate clinical decision making and symptom management.
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