Patient reported outcomes

It is perhaps tempting to think of progress in medicine as characterised by developments such as vaccinations, penicillin and advances in surgery. However, the late 20th century saw a remarkable change in the approach to evaluating healthcare interventions which may have gone largely unnoticed by both the general public and, indeed, many patients. Patients’ reports have now become central to healthcare evaluation, and this was simply not the case historically. Patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) are now regularly used to systematically gain meaningful subjective accounts from those receiving care. This is in stark contrast to the prevailing approach adopted to outcomes measurement throughout most of the 20th century and before; namely, that outcomes should be assessed by professionals, such as clinicians and researchers. Reports from patients were, traditionally, viewed as subjective, and consequently unreliable. Significant evidence, however, has accumulated that patient reports are not only a reliable source of information, but also one of the most important.